Princess Diaries
by Tessellation Reynolds
Summary: Sometimes finding your past isn't nearly as hard as deciding what to do about it. OC-centric to start, but the DBZ cast/plot does come in and they are important as the focus will shift to become more V/B-centric. Epic Story in the works.
1. Chapter 1: Tessellation

**Disclaimer: I am not a Japanese male, and therefore cannot even begin to attempt to stake claim over the DBZ characters and franchise. However, if I was a Japanese male, I'd have to start asking my parents some very big questions. The first of which would be why I'm lacking certain parts of my anatomy.**

* * *

**Chapter 1: Tessellation**

The girl sighed as she sunk further into her seat in the office. She ran a hand through the brilliant red hair and nervously tucked the loose strands back behind her ear. They didn't stay there long before resuming their position of standing on end. She hated her hair. It spiked up in random directions and the closest she could come to controlling was to pull most of it back into a ponytail. Even then, her bangs would stand on end creating a frame around her face and the ponytail itself stood on end and straight back. What she hated more than her hair though were the people who thought that she was trying to get attention with it. It wasn't like she tried to spike it, it just happened.

Meanwhile, she had the school secretary sending her nasty glares from over the counter and all she could do was bow her head further as she kicked her legs. She was so short that her feet didn't even drag across the floor as they swung. It was hard being fifteen and only 4'1". She kept praying that one day she'd be graced with a growth spurt that would make her look her age rather than like a little middle school kid. There was a ruffling of papers as the secretary gave the girl another sharp look. She had a feeling the paperwork had something to do with the wrecked row of lockers.

It wasn't her fault that the locker had jammed. And it certainly wasn't her fault that when she'd attempted to knock whatever it was jamming her locker loose that her lock and the ones on either side of it had been ripped free of the wall and then so severely dented that they were nearly bent in half. It had been a moment of frustration and apparently she really didn't know her own strength. Ever since she'd gotten out of the hospital, she'd had a nasty habit of breaking things, like her father's truck door, the refrigerator, the trash can—or at least what was left of that.

"Tessellation, would you please step in here for a moment?" Tessa stood up with more than slight apprehension. She followed her principal into his office and flopped down into the chair opposite of his. She couldn't bring herself to look him in the face so she stared at his nameplate instead. _Principal Dave Rickmeyer_

"I swear I didn't mean it…I swear…"

Principal Rickmeyer held up a hand to silence her. "I don't need an explanation. What I do need is a promise that you'll restrain from attacking public property in future outbursts."

"An outburst?! It was an accident if you'd only listen instead of…" Again she was cut off and she threw herself back against the chair in disgust and stared up at the ceiling. It was made of the flimsy tile material that kids liked toss pencils into like a dart board.

"Now, Miss Reynolds, I'm going to have to call you father and discuss this with him. There are some serious emotional problems behind this and I hope that together we can get to the bottom of it." Tessa sat up about to protest but thought better of it. "Perhaps this has to do with feelings of abandonment. It's normal for adopted children…"

Tessa had had enough, "Look, this has nothing to do with my being adopted—or my mom. And you don't get it, do you? You can't call my father because he's a drunk and will kill me rather than discuss my issues." Tessa held her fingers up to give the principal animated quotation marks.

"There's no need to overreact now."

Tessa popped up and out of her seat in the blink of an eye. The principal obviously didn't do his homework when dealing with families. "I'm not…ever since my mom died, and he lost his job, Dad's been leaning on the bottle and if he's good and drunk he'll…he'll…well God only knows what he'll do." Tessa suddenly was gripped by the flashback of how she'd wound up in the hospital to begin with. The fear was like a vice on her lungs and she couldn't breath let alone speak anymore. She quickly turned on her heel and stormed out of the room before Principal Rickmeyer could say anymore.

_God, who does that guy think he is. Screw school and him too._ With that thought in mind she turned the corner at the end of the hall and walked right out of the building as the secretary rose to her feet to watch through the glass walls.

* * *

Tessa groaned as she turned onto the final block on her walk home. Her father was waiting for her, sitting in a lawn chair on the porch, beer bottle in hand. She forced herself to look normal as if nothing was wrong even though she was coming home before lunchtime. She forced herself to put the normal bounce in her step as she bounded up the steps and onto the porch. She opened the screen door only to have it pushed shut again.

"Hi Daddy." She turned slowly to look up at him. This was definitely one of the days she felt dwarfed by her 6'2" tall father. Not even the tallest of her spikes reached his arm pits.

"Don't give me that shit." He spun her around by her shoulder and pushed her back against the siding. "What the hell were you thinking, huh? I just got a call from the school. You know how much money they want. Maybe you haven't noticed but we don't have that much extra cash lying around for you to destroy the school." His expression was contorted into fury, his nose gleaming red from the alcohol and the blood shot eyes did nothing to relieve the fierce look.

"It was an accident, promise, Daddy." He narrowed his eyes with disbelief and Tessa cringed, pressing into the wall hoping that it could provide her some protection. Either that or she could melt into it.

"Just like my truck?" Tessa nodded her head avoiding the urge to look at the red truck parked curbside with the passenger side door smashed in. Her father took her nodding badly and backhanded her hard enough to knock her head off the side of the house.

Tessa blinked in surprise as her breathing became harder from the rush of adrenaline that coursed through her veins. Her surprise did not come from the blow, she had actually been expecting that, but rather her surprise was rooted in that she hadn't really felt it. Of course she knew she'd been hit but there was no stinging, no throbbing from where her head bashed into _and_ through the siding.

When he'd gone to strike her, he's released his grip on her shoulder and she used the chance to slide to the side a little and allowed her eyes to glance to the side. She could see the broken siding and then her gaze quickly shifted to her father whose face was rapidly turning redder with anger and frustration. _What's up with me going through walls lately?_

"Now look what you've done. Everything winds up broken except for you, you useless bitch." He raised his hand to strike her again but Tessa brought her arm up to block it at the last second. Instead of his fist connecting with her jaw he struck her forearm and reeled back howling in pain.

Tessa could only stare. Once again, she knew she'd been hit but felt nothing. When her father had finished rubbing his reddening knuckles he stepped forward and grabbed her arm pushing the sleeve of her shirt back. "What the hell you made of, girl? Goddamn steel?"

He moved to strike her again but Tessa was faster. She delivered a swift punch to his gut, which sent him falling back, coughing and hacking before he fell unconscious. She gasped at how easily it had happened without her even really thinking about it and stood staring down at her hand as she slowly opened and closed her fist in wonder. Her vision's focus then shifted from her hand to her father's still body lying on the porch and she quickly glanced around to see if anyone else had seen her. Seeing no one else on her street block, she turned and ran inside the house and raced up the stairs to her room where she flung herself down onto the bed, burying her tear streaked face into the pillows.

She tried to make sense of everything but there was no sense to be had in the situation. She may have just inadvertently killed her father and had simply left his body lying out in the open right in front of the house for anyone to see. Whatever she was going to do, she needed to act quickly.

She pushed herself up onto all fours and stared across the room into the mirror. Reflected in it was a chiseled face framed in wild red spikes of hair and dark eyes that were almost black. A sharp pointed nose finished off the 'don't mess with me' look. She looked nothing like her father who had brown hair in a military cut and round, ruddy features. Nor did she look like the woman in the photo frame with her soft features and auburn hair.

She knew she was adopted but sometimes she had to wonder where from. She didn't really look like anyone. She certainly wasn't normal looking that was for sure. If she didn't know better, she'd have thought she was some kind of alien, not human at all. But aliens weren't real…just stuff made up to scare kids.

She decided to stop wasting time and leave before he woke up, that is if he was even still alive. He was one of three things from what she could tell--dead, unconscious, or in a coma. She wasn't sure if she really wanted him to wake up though. If he was still alive he'd be really pissed and would come after her. But if he was dead, then she'd be able to just move on with life and not a soul would miss her. That much she knew. The more she thought about it the more she hoped that she'd accidentally killed him.

_I just hope the police would buy that load of crap._ She crossed the room to her dresser and began pulling out what few things she'd take with her. She stuffed a few changes of clothes in her back pack and tossed it over her shoulder before heading back down the stairs. As she breezed through the door for the last time she grabbed her windbreaker. She forced herself to glance down at her father's prone body again after she'd reached the sidewalk. She had to crane her neck to see the back of his head. She sighed hoping it would be a while before anyone found him because it would buy her more time to get away.

She didn't know where she wanted to go, just knew that she wanted to go as far away from the here and now as possible. She didn't know how possible that wish was.

* * *

Tessa found herself sitting at the bus station wondering why she had to be so stupid. She never once thought to grab some cash before walking out of the house. She couldn't go back, that was certain. She looked around and saw no way of sneaking onto a bus. She didn't care if she got kicked off in another city but she had a feeling she wouldn't make it ten feet from the bus station. She sighed as she flopped back against the bench in self disgust. It just wasn't her day.

She decided that there really wasn't that much she could do and it was now getting late. She started watching the people around her hurrying to catch the last buses for the night. She figured that she'd eventually grow bored and fall asleep. And it would be better to sleep as long as she could here where it there'd be a roof over her head before she was kicked out.

However she couldn't help but grow curious by a single person who seemed determined to blend in but was finding it to be impossible. He was a giant at seven foot something. She shuddered at the thought of how much taller—over two feet taller—he was than her. The stranger kept close to the walls to avoid mixing in with people and was moving past her bench from behind. She whipped her head back around to look over her other shoulder so she didn't lose him and watched his progress.

He didn't seem to be moving towards the buses but in an almost erratic path as if he was looking for someone. Curiosity really got the best of her as she found herself standing up from the bench, her carefully packed bag abandoned behind her. She moved quickly through the crowd to follow him but she kept getting pushed around because people were too preoccupied to notice some short kid but she was able to easily push right back.

"Watch where you're going!"

"Sorry."

She turned her head to look back at the woman she'd accidentally knocked to the ground and when she turned back she lost sight of the giant man. _What the…how could I lose a guy like that? He was huge!_ As she reached the wall she continued to search over the crowd but couldn't spot him again. She sighed as she leaned back and found herself to be leaning on someone instead. She slowly tilted her head back and gasped at the site above her.

A wrinkled face with wide eyes and beady little pupils was staring back down at her. He wore a brimmed ball cap and a high collared coat that shadowed his face from most but it was impossible for Tessa to not notice this close up. "You're…you're green."

"Now's not the time for stating the obvious." Despite his frail looking age, he took a firm grasp of her upper arm and led her away from the bus stops and the crowds. For the first time, running away seemed like a terribly bad idea. She was going to be kidnapped, raped, murdered, and God only knew what else… "Stop trying to resist. I won't hurt you." She stopped dead in her tracks at his business like tone and he allowed her to. They were already on the other side of the road and a good ways down when they'd stopped. No one would hear her scream but she wasn't sure if she needed to anymore.

"You know it's funny…I was just convincing myself that aliens don't exist." The green man made no response except for a small twitch at the corner of his mouth. She watched curiously as he removed the long trench coat and ball cap. Long pointed ears and antenna like things stood on top of his head. He wore a loose fitting purple outfit with a blue belt and before her eyes a great white cape and turban appeared. He paused briefly to put them on before he started walking again. "Okay, if we're going to be at this for awhile, we might as while get to know each other. My name's Tessellation, but everyone calls me Tessa."

"Piccolo."

"What?"

"My name is Piccolo."

"Oh…that's different." He turned his head to look down at her and she jumped forward plastering a grin on her face. "In a good way. Totally cool. Love the instrument too." He shook his head as she practically skipped and jogged to keep up with his long stride. "I guess you're wondering why I ran away."

"No."

"Not the slightest bit curious?"

"No. I knew that you knocked out your father. He's in the hospital already and should recover quickly."

"Were you stalking me? 'Cause that's just creepy."

"No, I could sense your power. For someone who doesn't do any training, you're extremely strong."

"Hey, I do enough. I walk to and from school and I play softball in the summer. You know there are kids who just sit on their butts and watch TV."

Piccolo gazed at her appraisingly and shook his head as he continued walking. "What I'm trying to tell you is that you're unnaturally strong when compared to other humans. You have a gift."

"A gift for what? All I seem to do is property destruction and get into trouble," Tessa grumbled as she crossed her arms over her chest. Her expression was set with her mouth forming a thin line as her brow furrowed.

"You could be a great fighter."

"Why would I want to do that? I mean, I get it; I don't exactly have a plan right now. But of all things I could decide to do with my life, becoming a fighter wasn't even scratching its way onto the bottom of the list. Sorry if I'm not ready to play the Rocky to your Paulie," she said rolling her eyes.

Piccolo just looked at her in confusion not catching the reference. "It's been a long time since I recognized a fighter with your potential."

"Potential, huh? I think that's the first time that word's ever been applied to me." She cast him a sideways glance as she pondered the possibilities. "Of all the people I could have walked out of that bus station with, I didn't pick the child molester, I didn't pick the woman who'd turn me in to child protective services, oh no, I picked the alien who wants to turn me into a professional fighter. Where are you from anyway?"

"My race is from a planet called Namek. My father came here thousands of years ago and became one of Earth's guardians."

"And what exactly did you do?"

"I along with other warriors fought for Earth's peace from foreign threats."

"Foreign as in intergalactic?" Tessa asked. Piccolo nodded. "So you're pretty damn old, huh?"

"You could say that. We Namekians tend to live a long time naturally and I've found other ways to augment my lifespan."

"Huh. How can I believe you? A couple thousand years ago the Earth was in the Stone Age."

"No. The Earth regressed back to the Stone Age after we lost in a battle. At one time, the Earth was just as, if not more, advanced than it is now."

"Now that's stuff they don't tell you in school." She furrowed her brows further in contemplation. "Why should I go with you?" she asked suddenly.

"Why would you not? You certainly didn't look like you had any plans."

"I-I could. I only agreed to take a walk with you. Nothing more," Tessa argued stubbornly as she planted her hands on her hips. Piccolo shrugged and turned walking back the way they came. "Hey! Wait! Where are you going?" Tessa ran after him waving her hand for him to stop.

"If you're not interested in my training you, then I thought I'd just walk you right back to the bus station."

"Well, hypothetically," Tessa started, "if I did go with you to train. Where exactly would we be going?"

Piccolo smirked realizing he had her attention again. "I'd have to take you there. Think of it as an extended camping trip if you will."

"Okay, I'm listening. How would we get there?"

"Seeing as I found you sitting in a bus station, I take it you don't know how to fly yet. So I suppose I'd have to carry you."

"Wait, I could learn to fly? That's so cool." Tessa began racing ahead, her arms spread out wide as she imitated a soaring hawk, winding this way and that along the birm of the road.

Piccolo narrowed his eyes at the girl's suddenly peaked excitement. Had it really been that simple all along to get her hook, line, and sinker?

Piccolo couldn't believe he was doing this. Whatever had driven him to find the source of this power was either sentimentality from old age or the fact that he was bored. But now it was something else. She looked so familiar and yet so different at the same time. Despite her age, there was still a bit of childish wonder to her that reminded him so much of his old friend, Goku. At the same time, there was a raw, stubborn nature that reminded him of a very different Saiyan. But at the same time, he could make the claim that she reminded him of Krillin in her wise cracking manners. There was no way of knowing where the girl had come from and why she possessed such enormous natural strength.

* * *

She'd fallen asleep as he carried her while flying over the earth below. She would need a lot of training but if her powers were this great without any help at all, she could be just as strong if not stronger than some of the others, certainly some of the weaker fighters he'd known like Yamcha and Tien. And for a while, their strengths had been sufficient to ward off many enemies. He had no way of knowing whether or not karma would balance itself out as it seemed to do. Perhaps that was the true reason for seeking her out. It seemed that as Goku had trained and become stronger, so had the quality of his enemies and those that sought to do harm to Earth. It could just be the balance of forces playing out on Earth that each time a fighter arose who was capable, they were to be challenged in any way possible.

Looking down at her he couldn't help but once again be struck by the familiarity of her features. She had sharp features in her facial structure, her mouth was small and pointed like her nose, but her forehead was broad with a sharp widow's peak coming down across it. And oh, was she stubborn. He couldn't believe that she'd had the gall to insist that she might have something better to do than come train. It was plainly obvious to anyone that she was a child without a cause and anywhere to go. But he could tell that her stubbornness would be of benefit when it came to training. It would make her more determined.

As he watched she yawned and buried her head into his arm with a small sigh. It had been a long time since he'd trained anyone and now he was training a girl. He had to wonder what he'd gotten himself into.

* * *

A/N: I wanted to warn you that this was a story I've been working on for a very long time. Therefore, I have a lot written thus far, but not nearly chronologically. So basically, if my story was a football game, I have the first and third quarters at a place where I'm relatively happy with them—they plays are called, and the players know when to be on and off the field. Seeing as I'm missing the second quarter the story at first may seem like it's going up quickly but may slow down some as I work out the kinks in that part of the story. Bear with me, and we shall get through this together. It's certainly not writer's block, just that I haven't allowed myself to explore those parts of the story. I had far more exciting ideas for the other parts and ran wild with them rather than being a normal human being and going chronologically. :)


	2. Chapter 2: Training Day

**Disclaimer: I do not own Piccolo. I do own a clarinet though.**

**Chapter 2: Training Day**

Tessa opened her eyes and stretched lazily. She blinked a few times looking around her at the grassy field that she'd woken up in. "How'd I get here?" she asked the open air. She got no response and she flopped back down into the long grass and stared up at the clouds passing over head. After a few more minutes of contemplation she began to think about the night before. It was so strange she had to wonder if it had even really happened. For all she knew, she'd sneaked aboard a bus, been found out, and wound up in this field for the night.

Her stomach was growling and she realized she hadn't eaten anything in twenty-four hours. She was starved. As she stared at the clouds imagining them as hamburgers, fries, and sodas she saw a speck of green move through them and rubbed her eyes in disbelief. It was too big for a bird. As it moved closer to her she quickly realized the green spot was a person of some kind. She was sitting straight up and was pushing herself backwards along the ground as the person approached her location swiftly. She spared a second to glance over her shoulder to look for cover but there was nothing but large rock formations and they were too far away to reach in time.

In a last ditch effort, she stood up and did her best to look tough in a fighting pose. The person finally landed a few feet from her and he smiled at her baring a pair of fangs. She blinked a few times realizing that she must not have dreamed up her encounter of the third kind last night. "Piccolo?"

He nodded with a look of slight amusement. "It's a good day to start training."

Tessa's stomach gurgled and grumbled in protest. "How about some food first? I think I'm more likely to pass out." She wrapped her arms over her stomach as if trying to hold in the noise.

Piccolo shook his head and held one hand out to the side. The same way that his cape and turban had appeared out of thin air, a loaf of bread and apples now appeared. He tossed them to her and she did her best to juggle the items, but resulted in dropping one of the apples. She quickly sat down on the ground and inhaled the food without protest. Even basic foods were better than nothing. "How'd you do that?" she asked as she stuck a large chunk of bread in her mouth and began to chew.

"It's called magic materialization."

"Well, that's descriptive enough I suppose. Can you teach me?"

"Unfortunately not."

Tessa frowned as she began munching on one of the apples. She chewed it down to the core before tossing it aside and starting the second one. "Can I learn to fly?"

"Yes, once you've learned to manipulate your ki."

Tessa's eyebrow popped but she remained silent as she continued to eat her apple contemplatively. "What's ki?" she asked finally breaking the silence once more.

"It's the source of your inner strength. Your body's energy that you can harness to create blasts or increase your strength." Again, she gave another thoughtful nod. "Are you ready to start?" Piccolo asked as she'd managed to chew the second apple down to its core as well. The girl stood up and tossed the apple over her shoulder and assumed a fighting stance much like the ones she'd seen in kung fu movies. Piccolo's shoulders drooped as he gazed at her. "What are you doing?" he snarled.

"Um…fighting?" Tessa sounded unsure of herself as she tightened her posture, the muscles flexing beneath the skin. This was going to require far more effort on his part than he'd thought.

"You want a position that's comfortable and not so open to attack. A baby would be able to defeat you like that."

Tessa became lax as she gazed up at Piccolo in frustration. "Then what exactly do you want me to do? Because I have no clue. You're the one who seems to think I'm some natural born fighter. Maybe you're just wrong," she muttered.

Piccolo growled in the back of his throat as he stepped forward and readjusted her arms and legs so that she was standing facing forward, the right foot slightly back for balance. Her arms were nearly straight at her sides except for a small bend at the elbow.

"But how could this possibly protect me from attacks? I'm completely open," Tessa sputtered as she tilted her head to the side and gazed down at her open chest area.

"But you can move easily to defend any part of your body."

"Oh. Right. I guess so."

Piccolo stepped back before charging her in an attack. She crossed her arms in front of her and could feel the blow as she was sent flying backwards. She squeezed her eyes shut waiting to fall back down but she instead slammed into one of the rock formations. She slumped to the ground rubbing the back of her head in agony. When she pulled herself back up Piccolo was standing over her and she could see that they were several hundred yards from where they'd started.

"Little hard there don't you think?"

"It's the only way I know to train. You'll eventually get tired of getting knocked around and defend yourself properly." She pouted at him but regained her defensive stance and waited for his next attack. He attacked her the same way but instead of pulling her arms tight across her chest she held them out and used her left to deflect his blow to the side. Instead of becoming airborne she began to slide across the ground leaving deep ruts, but she only moved a few yards.

"That better?"

"Yes, but not good enough." Again and again he attacked her until she finally completely deflected the blow but as she did, he kneed her in the stomach, which caused her to go straight up into the air. When she came back down he caught her as she clumsily threw her arms around his neck in a death grip. Piccolo peeled her hands away and set her back down on her feet.

"What was that?!?" she squealed in agitation. She didn't like being tossed through the air so much. It tended to hurt when she reconnected with the solid ground.

"Do you really think that someone's only going to attack one move at a time? They're going to combine them and you're going to have to keep up."

"I'm gonna look like a purple dinosaur tomorrow from all these bruises."

"You need to take this more seriously and stop playing games." He attacked yet again using the same combination. As she learned to deflect each attack, he'd add another forcing her to think more, and become faster.

After a while Tessa and Piccolo were sparring for a half an hour at a time. Out of frustration she threw a punch at him breaking up the rhythm of his attacks. He caught her fist and flipped her to the ground in a single swift movement. She blinked stupidly as she stared up from the ground and rubbed the back of her head where she'd hit it.

"What were you doing?" he asked releasing his grip on her hand and arm and she allowed it to drop limply across her chest as she laid on her back blinking up at him.

"Gee, I thought you'd recognize an attack when you saw one." She stood up and brushed herself off sneaking an upward glance through her eyelashes at Piccolo's reaction. There was that twitch of a smile again but it quickly changed to his usual straight face.

"You're going to have to be a lot stronger before you can actually attack me with any result."

"Well, then I'll just have to be stronger." She put her hands on her hips in defiance but Piccolo waved his hand and walked away.

"We're done for the day. Get some rest. It'll be a long day tomorrow."

"That's it? We're done…" But Piccolo was already airborne leaving her in the middle of nowhere. "Great! It was fun! We should do this again—real soon!" Tessa shouted after him, managing her most sarcastic tone as she waved. _That child molester keeps sounding better every day. _She allowed her arm to drop as she crossed her arms tightly over her chest as she continued to stare in the direction he'd gone before sighing and gazing at her surroundings. One place seemed as good as any other to drop to the ground for sleep.

* * *

Piccolo came back to find Tessa sleeping fitfully. She was muttering things in her sleep and tossing and turning under the light weight windbreaker she was using for a blanket.

"Veggie…Don't…I'm sorry…" He leaned over as she flipped over in her sleep and placed a hand over her head. Instantly his head was filled by her dream.

_A small red-headed Saiyan girl no older than five stood in a hallway by herself as a boy about two years older walked away from her. Like him, her tail was wrapped around her waist in typical Saiyan fashion. "Please, Veggie, I'm sorry."_

_"I told you to stop calling me that, girl."_

_"Just don't do it, Veggie. You can't listen to Frieza anymore. It's wrong." Silent tears began to spill down the girl's cheeks and a young Vegeta stopped to look back._

_"Stop that. If he sees you crying…" Even this young, Vegeta already had a leering tone to his voice but it softened for this girl. The girl's crying became hysterical and Vegeta sighed as he came back to comfort her. He knelt down in front of her and rubbed her shoulders gently. "Hush now. I'll be back. Promise."_

_She sobbed once more before she nodded. "Okay." Vegeta stood up and wiped the tears from her eyes before turning to leave once more. She turned to go back the other way only to come face to face with Frieza himself. "Lord Frieza…I…I"_

_"Enjoying a walk Princess Tanga?" There was a snide tone to his voice as he placed a rough hand on her head and forcefully led her. _

_She choked back on a sob forcing herself to remain strong. "No sir, I just…" Her face flushed with frustration as she stood up to one of the most powerful beings in the universe._

_"You were just what?"_

_"I'm sorry, I won't do it again." She hung her head in a way only a child can._

_"You're right, you won't. Because if you do, you'll never see your brother again."_

_"Oh don't hurt him! I'll be good, I swear. Just don't hurt Veggie!"_

_"Veggie, how cute."_

Piccolo pulled out of the dream with Frieza's laughter still ringing through his head. This girl was a Saiyan princess and Vegeta's sister. Yet she remembered nothing of this past. Then her winding up in the future was the doing of Frieza somehow. It certainly explained why she was stronger than the average human. She wasn't even human, and as far as the Saiyan standards went, she was rather weak actually.

Another thing occurred to Piccolo as well, at one point Vegeta had cared…a lot. He shook Tessa's shoulders to awake her and she opened her eyes groggily. "Did I sleep in?"

"No." She yawned and stretched her arms above her head several joints cracked from abuse the day before.

"Then what's up?"

"What were you dreaming about?"

"What?" She sat up and pulled her knees up to her chest against the night chill. "Was I talking in my sleep again? Cause I do that all the time…you just got to ignore it."

"You were saying you were sorry for something?"

"Huh, normally I talk about Vegetables. My adopted father said it used to make him hungry to listen to me talk in my sleep." Piccolo realized there was no way he could make her remember and it wasn't up to him to tell her. "Is that why you woke me? You were worried I was having a nightmare. That's sweet." She flashed him a flirting smile before lying back down. She pulled her windbreaker back up over her and shivered before falling immediately asleep.

Piccolo sighed, now more than ever, it was important that this girl was trained properly and that she learned of her past. He removed his cape and laid it across her before sitting down nearby to watch her sleep.

* * *

Tessa awoke the next morning to find herself covered in Piccolo's cape. It felt like it weighed a ton and she was exhausted just pushing it off. Its weight had kept her plenty warm during the night. She sat up and kicked it off her lower legs in a final effort before looking around and saw Piccolo sitting nearby, his head lowered in what appeared to be sleep. By her side was a pile of clothes and a pair of boots were set on top.

She got up and moved towards the pile and looked at them quickly. There was a dark green shirt and matching green pants that were skintight. A tunic of purple to go on top that came to her knees was next with a green fabric belt to tie it closer to her body. Finally a pair of heavy boots and wrist bands in black sat on top of the pile. She glanced back at Piccolo to make sure he was still sleeping before quickly changing at what she considered to be lightning speed.

The boots weighed a ton and took a little while to get used to. She paced back and forth getting used to the added weight and the way they wore on her feet. They definitely weren't Nikes or Reeboks. She wished she had a mirror to see what she looked like but decided that she'd live until she could find one. It wasn't like she was going to meet any good-looking guys out here in no man's land. She was all by her lonesome except for tall, green, and silent. _Whatever happened to Mister Talk, Dark and Handsome?_ She peered over her shoulder and saw a patch of green on her back and realized that it was actually a pattern of some sort. She twisted and turned trying to see what the pattern was that was on her but to no avail.

Piccolo roused himself and watched Tessa with amusement. She turned around and around like a dog chasing its tail as she tried to see what was on the back of her tunic. She knew nothing of the Japanese language so even if she could see the symbol on the back of her gi, she wouldn't know that it was his own. Finally she saw that he was awake. In a way, she was just a typical girl and he was just waiting for the evident question. "Do you think this makes me look fat?"

He shook his head and smiled slightly. "No. Now are you ready to continue training?"

"Uh huh. Why are these so heavy though? I mean, shouldn't I be able to move easily in them?" She picked at the bottom hem of the tunic with curiosity. At last she turned and picked up her black windbreaker and put it on over top. On the right side above her chest _TESSA _was embroidered onto the nylon fabric.

"They're training clothes and meant to be heavy. The weight will make you stronger and eventually you won't realize just how heavy they are. Now let's get started. You're learning energy manipulation."

"Energy who-wha?"

"Energy Manipulation. It'll allow you to perform any of hundreds of attacks, even fly."

"Then let's get cracking. What do I need to do first?"

"You must focus your energy to a specific point in your body. Usually the palms of your hands for better control."

Tessa laughed. "You're kidding. That sounds like some kind of anger management practice. You know…" She held her hands out in front of her and closed her eyes. "Now find your happy place and imagine all of your anger leaving your body to form a little red ball. Now take that ball and release it…"

Piccolo grabbed her hands before she could release a very real ball of energy that she'd created. "Tessa open your eyes."

She did and let out a small squeak. "What is that?!?"

"A small piece of your ki."

"You mean goofing off worked. Ha! in your face." Piccolo frowned and Tessa quickly regained a serious composure. "Okay, so now what do I do with this?"

"You use it to attack your opponent."

"But I'd hurt you, wouldn't I?"

"That's too small to hurt me."

"Oh. So I've got a long way to go." She looked crestfallen as she turned away from him, the energy ball still in hand. She saw a decent sized boulder and aimed her hand towards it. The ball shot straight at the rock. She turned her back and didn't watch as the boulder blew up along with several feet of ground around it. Pieces of rock and dirt flew into the air and rained down around them.

Piccolo watched with a certain amount of awe. The energy ball she'd created had been so small. There's no way that it should have been able to do that much damage…unless she'd concentrated the ki within the ball.

"You shouldn't be disappointed, I'm thousands of times stronger than you are right now."

"Should I try again then?" She seemed frustrated as if she should've done better her first try. There it was. That is why she had seemed so familiar. It was the Saiyan determination to constantly do better and increase her strength. Piccolo only nodded. Again she closed her eyes but she didn't talk through this one. A ball of glowing energy quickly formed between her hands. She reopened her eyes and allowed herself a small smile as she held it up in one hand.

"I don't know all that much, but I think this is better." Piccolo nodded as he walked behind her. He smiled with amusement as he read the back of her jacket. _We bust ours, to kick yours._ She turned her head to watch as he moved her hands so that they held the energy at her side.

Without removing his hands, he spoke. "You'll want to the focus the energy between your hands in a position such that you can then thrust your hands forward to give your blast momentum." He pushed her arms forward as he spoke and she released the energy at a larger boulder farther away. This boulder also exploded into tiny little pieces leaving yet another large hole in the ground.

"I did that? Wow."

"For the second time." Piccolo pointed at the first large hole and Tessa followed his finger.

"But it's still not good enough for battle, is it?"

"No, but this is only your second day of training. It takes time."

"The question is, how much time do I have? Is there something bad coming on the horizon? Is that why you came to find me?"

"No. There's nothing looming on the horizon," Piccolo said calming her fears. "But it doesn't hurt to be prepared."

"Righto." She narrowed her eyes as she looked towards the sky. "Now let's get me my wings."

"That's more difficult, Tessa. I don't think you're ready yet."

"I didn't ask for your opinion. I'm gonna do it today." She looked more determined than ever. In two days she'd doubled her speed and learned the basics of ki manipultion. Yet she still wasn't satisfied. Piccolo didn't know if he wanted to be awed and amazed or strike the girl for being so pigheaded.

"It takes a lot of energy. Perhaps we should just spar for today. You can practice the ki blasts in a fight situation."

"Just tell me how to fly already." She glared up at him. Despite the great height difference between them, she still looked menacing from her far shorter stance. She was definitely a Saiyan child.

"Instead of focusing your energy to one singular point, you need to focus it throughout your body and force it upwards.

She closed her eyes and slowly a green tinged golden aura formed around her. Piccolo could sense her power growing as he watched, and slowly her feet lifted off the ground. She rose quite a good distance up into the air before the aura vanished in the blink of an eye and she dropped back down at a sickening speed. Piccolo caught her but she was out cold from using all of her energy.

As he gently laid her back down on the ground and he couldn't help but wonder if he wasn't babying her. He never would have trained Gohan this way. Was he doing it because she was a girl? He shook his head and tried to convince himself that starting tomorrow that he'd train her just like anyone else. She was a Saiyan and could handle it. Pain would do her some good and teach her to not repeat the same old mistakes. And there certainly was no one to give him hell for failing to baby her.

He draped his cape over her as she lay shivering on the ground and swore that tomorrow he was going to stop that nonsense. She was fifteen, not a child that needed tending. As she tossed and turned, the cape slipped and he pulled it back over her shoulder. _Tomorrow, _he thought, _Tomorrow, I'll stop doing all of that. I just can't help but feel that she's my last chance to do something right._

He watched as she tossed and turned some more continuing to mutter in her sleep like the night before. It seemed as if she was having the same nightmare as before and he did not feel the need to invade any more right now. Perhaps another time. First he wanted to explain to her what he had seen…who she really was. But what if by telling her the truth, it worsened her mental block of her earliest memories. What if she wouldn't even be able to remember through dreaming anymore? There was something that had happened to her that was creating this block. He just didn't know what it was yet.

had then clasped one of his large hands down on her shoulder to hold her still while the two of them watched Veggie be led and the scary looking man. But Veggie had been sent away with one of the scary looking man's men. Veggie had looked angry and maybe even frightened. She knew she was angry because she had tried to follow but had been roughly grabbed up and tossed back. King Vegeta on pain of punishment. But she wanted to go with Veggie. It wasn't often that she was not allowed to follow him wherever he went. They had been ordered into the throne room together to see King ve frowned as she crossed her arms over her tiny chest. She had been ushered to her bedroom and instructed not to leaTanga

* * *

_She sat on the edge of her bed kicking her feet listlessly as she pondered her situation. She could easily escape her bedroom. That wasn't hard at all. But she wasn't entirely sure where Veggie was. But, she only needed to tackle one feat at a time. She jumped down from her bed and quickly crossed to the small dresser. She pressed her shoulder against it, sliding it to the side to reveal a ventilation shaft, the cover already removed and leaning against the wall. She dove inside and quickly made her way through the labrynth towards King Vegeta's throne room. That's where she'd last seen Veggie._

_She was almost there when she recognized the man who'd taken Veggie. He was tall and pale green with dark green hair pulled back in a single braid. While he was outwardly handsome, Tanga still didn't like him. He'd taken Veggie away. And beside him was the large, fat pink man who'd grabbed her back. They spoke in hushed tones and then began to walk away. Tanga sprang to all fours and deftly followed them with easy running lopes. Each time she reached a vent, she would peer down to watch which direction they took before taking off again, her tail nearly standing erect for balance._

_They eventually approached a large cargo bay that was storing the ugly man's massive ship. It was being restocked for supplies at King Vegeta's expense. The two men went aboard and Tanga realized that Veggie must also be on board already. She ran to the ventilation shaft that was directly over the top of the ship and pounded the cover with her tiny fists, knocking it loose and it swung back with a small clang. She poked her head down through the opening and saw that no one had either heard or paid the sound any attention._

_She braced herself in the hole with three of her limbs and tail as she reached down with one of her short arms but the roof of the ship was still very far away it seemed. She set her expression and made the decision to just jump. She'd seen Veggie jump from higher heights. She could do this._

_She more or less fell the several feet and upon hitting the top of the ship, she began to skid and slide down the gentle slope towards the edge. She managed to get her grip eventually and skittered back up to the top of the ship and out of sight from any of the workers. She found an open hatch near the top that had a ladder and she quickly scaled down it to find herself in a back maintenance hall. Again, she ran on all fours through the hall trying to sense out where Veggie was. Usually she had an uncanny ability to find him, but her senses were assaulted by all kinds of new scents that his seemed to be lost in the mix._

_She turned a corner and froze. She could smell the ugly looking man so strongly that she feared he must be right in front of her. But there was a small vent and upon peering through, she could see he was actually on the other side of the wall from her. "I want you to go make sure the royal brat is still in the storage hold and hasn't escaped before we leave. Do you understand, Dodoria?"_

_The fat pink man was there too and she could see him nodding. He then bowed and turned to leave and Tanga chased after him as best she could using the maintenance hall. He eventually entered a room on the opposite side of the hall from her and for the briefest of moments Tanga caught Veggie's scent. _He's there! _she thought as she quickly looked around to see if there was any way for to go up and over the hall way. She spotted a vent in the ceiling and grinned as she quickly bounced off the walls attaining the height she needed before wrapping her tail deftly around a pipe to hold herself up near the ceiling as he pried the vent loose. She crawled inside and squeaked at the sight of a rat before silencing herself again. She then swiftly moved through the vent but didn't see that the shaft dropped off going straight down and fell and tumbled coming out through another vent. _

_She coughed at the dust and when she sat up she grinned seeing Veggie sitting on a crate in front of her. The boy just turned and gazed at her in surprise but it faded. "What are you doing here, Girl?"_

* * *

When Tessa awoke it was already dark and once again the great white cape was covering her. It didn't feel nearly as heavy as before and she held it up to her neck as she sat up looking around. Piccolo had built a decent sized fire nearby and was sleeping himself on the other side. She tried to go back to sleep but something was nagging her and all she accomplished was twisting and turning.

Once more, she sat up and examined her surroundings and continued to look around seeing that they were actually beneath one of the larger rock formations.

A small grin grew on her face as she continued to stare up at the monstrous rock. Without thinking twice she threw off the cape and took to climbing the cliff side. Even though she'd only been training two days, she couldn't help but feel that she was climbing rather fast. An hour and a half later she'd reached the top and was peering back down from the edge. Piccolo was still in the same position she'd left him.

She took a deep breath as she stepped back from the edge and then took a running leap over it. She fell for a few seconds before closing her eyes and clenching her fists in concentration. With a small jerk she stopped falling and hovered in the air still fifty feet above the ground. She grinned as she held her hands up in front of her. The green gold aura had returned. She flipped through the air once and kicked off the cliff side and soared through the air. She felt on top of the world as she zipped between the cliffs.

Unlike before she didn't feel as if she was getting weaker and if anything it was quite the opposite. After a while she found herself near a lake where the sun was rising and decided to land. She sat beside the lake simply enjoying the sun rise.

"What are you doing here?" Tessa didn't bother to look back, she knew it was Piccolo.

"I couldn't sleep so I thought I'd practice flying."

"All this way?"

"Uh huh. It was kinda fun."

"You should have been resting. You're weak from yesterday."

"Nah…I feel better than ever to be honest." She leaned back on her hands and looked at Piccolo upside down. At times he reminded her of an overly protective parent. Not that she knew what that was like from first hand experience, but she'd heard stories from some of her classmates. He stood there with his arms crossed over his chest and looking very cross with her. Yes, over protective parent was an apt description. "Were you worried about little ol' me? That's really sweet of you, but I can take care of myself you know."

"I'm not so sure of that yet."

"Humph. You wouldn't say that if I was a guy." She sat back up and crossed her arms over her chest defiantly. "I'm just a girl…God only knows what could happen to me when I'm out all by my lonesome." Her sarcastic tone made no headway with Piccolo as he continued to glare down at the back of her head. He had half a mind to blast her into the water for a good wake up call. "I might be robbed, or beaten, or oh no! maybe even killed. But I doubt it. You've brought me all the way out here to the middle of nowhere and I don't even know what country I'm in anymore." The other half of Piccolo's mind seconded the idea as he shot her with a ki blast that sent her into the center of the lake. She resurfaced cursing and flapping her arms. Already an aura was forming around her from her anger.

"You better run, cause if I catch you…"

"You'll what? Kill me with one of your pathetic ki blasts? I doubt it." She narrowed her eyes at him as she slowly rose out of the water. Already her aura was brightening and for a moment he wondered if he'd pushed her to the edge of becoming a Super Saiyan already. Her energy was certainly spiking at a rapid rate.

"Like I said, start running." Her fists were clenched and she opened them one at a time revealing a decent sized ball of energy in each one. She brought them together as one at her side and released them with a great "Ha!"

Piccolo underestimated her sudden strength and stood silently as the ki hit him square in the chest. Instead of standing his ground like he thought he would, he was pushed back a few feet. He stared down at the ground at the ruts he'd made and when he looked up Tessa was already in his face. She kicked him in the face with her shin and used his chest to kick off of as she flipped once in the air and landed neatly on the ground. She immediately kicked off the ground and came at him again fists flying.

"Don't you ever…" She landed a fist square on his jaw. "Insult me like that again." Piccolo raised his hands to block further attacks but found himself to be slowly backing away. She definitely had a Saiyan's pride. Finally Piccolo shot himself up into the air but Tessa followed him.

"Well it seems that the only way to get you to push yourself is to insult you." He quickly powered himself up as she continued to lunge herself towards him. Yesterday had proven nothing, for she was at least twice as strong now. If she continued to improve at this rate she'd be a force to be reckoned with by the end of just one year.

"Screw you." She began yet another assault of punches and kicks. She blocked one of his own punches with her arm and with surprising strength she wrenched it to the side dislocating his shoulder. Piccolo caught her next punch bringing her to a halt as she breathed heavily from the adrenaline that coursed through her veins. She was nearly seeing red.

"If that would've been permanent…"

"What?" she sneered.

"You wouldn't live through this." He threw her into one of the rock formations and she found herself eating rock face first. On impact she lost her grip on her energy and fell back down to Earth. She groaned as she pushed herself back up to her knees and immediately she was pushed back down. Piccolo stood with his foot planted squarely on her back keeping her down as he gripped his arm and rammed it back into place in his shoulder.

He rolled the shoulder a few times until it felt normal again. "Now let's get a few things straight. You're going to do what I tell you when I tell you. Understand?" he growled. "No more of this insubordination."

"Only if you'll do something for me," she said spitting out gravel and dirt.

Piccolo considered for a moment. "Maybe. What?"

"That you won't get in my way when I want to push myself and if I want to quit that you won't ever let me."

"Fine." He removed his foot and allowed her to stand back up. She brushed herself off paying particular attention to her knees.

Without warning she stood up and gave him an uppercut to the jaw. "That's for wanting me to quit yesterday. It should make us even now." Piccolo rubbed his jaw but said nothing. "So what now, teach?" she asked crossing her arms over her chest, her expression set despite the jovial tone of her voice.

"I think some more sparring would be good." There was an evil glint in his eye as he sent her flying again with a single blow. Tessa caught herself in the air and forced herself to dive bomb back down at Piccolo. He'd definitely stopped taking it easy on her.

* * *

It was well beyond dark when Tessa literally passed out from exhaustion again. She tossed and turned fitfully as nightmares consumed her. Piccolo watched with concern as she cried out in her sleep. They were screams of pain and at once she sat up in her sleep and screamed.

"Stop it! It hurts…just stop!" Her eyes were wide with fear and she clawed at the air. Piccolo rushed towards her as her screams became more panicky and high pitched. "Please help! Anyone!" She grabbed at his arms but still acted as if she couldn't see him standing there over her. "Veggie, make him stop!" She let out one last blubbering sob as she threw her hands around Piccolo's neck in a tight embrace.

She was sleep walking in some form. She suddenly dropped her hold on his neck and fell back down to the ground continuing to sob. Piccolo paused before placing his hand on her head again. He felt guilty for entering her mind again without asking but he didn't see any choice. He needed to find out what was causing these nightmares.

_Vegeta gave Frieza a curt bow before giving him a status report on the attack from the night before. "All went as planned Lord Frieza. We destroyed everyone on the planet and have taken it for your own." _

_The view was broken by bars as Tanga was hiding inside a ventilation shaft watching all that happened. Nappa and Raditz stood behind Vegeta and nodded agreeably. Frieza scoffed at them and struck Vegeta with the back of his hand._

_"Stupid apes. It took you much too long to defeat a planet of pacifists!"_

_"My apologies, Lord…" Vegeta bowed and as he did he saw Tanga in her hiding spot. He glared at her before standing back up. "We won't fail you ever again."_

_"You best not or your sister will be the one to suffer the consequences." Vegeta glared at Frieza but said nothing._

_Tanga let out a small squeak from her hiding place and sat back banging off the opposite side of the ventilation shaft. Frieza narrowed his eyes and walked towards Tanga's hiding place. He ripped the venting away and yanked Tanga out by her collar. "What did you hear?"_

_"Everything! I heard everything you monster!" Frieza narrowed his eyes at her and changed his grip to her tail. She shrieked in pain as he dropped her collar and all of her weight hung by her tail. "That hurts!"_

_"You're nothing more than a stupid monkey!"_

_Vegeta watched in horror as Frieza tortured his sister. "Stop that. You'll regret it."_

_"What are you going to do, Boy?"_

_"I know your fear. You fear that the Super Saiyan is real. Why do you want to kill her? She'll never amount to a fighter. Even father didn't waste his time having her trained."_

_"You're right. She's not worth anything except as a distraction to you." _

_Tanga kicked and punched at the air hoping to connect with Frieza. "Let me go, you monster!" She finally landed a kick on his arm and in anger he grabbed her by the collar again._

_"You brat!" She stuck out her tongue and tried to kick again. "That tail is the source of your strength even as little as you are." He narrowed his eyes and slowly began to pull on her tail._

_"Stop it! It hurts…just stop! Please help! Anyone!" Nappa and Raditz turned away from her pleas as she continued to scream and cry. "Veggie, make him stop!" Finally, Frieza pulled her tail clean off and dropped her. She scrambled to her feet and rushed to Vegeta throwing her arms around his neck. He picked her up easily as she cried into his shoulder._

_"She's right. You are a monster. She's just a little girl."_

_"And that's all she'll amount to. Say goodbye to her, Veggie," Frieza sneered, "Because you're never going to see her again." Frieza signaled for Zarbon to take her from Vegeta and he swallowed his words as he watched her being led away._

_She was still crying but no longer struggling as she sobbed waving at her brother from over Zarbon's shoulder. _

_"Stop crying, girl. You're a Saiyan, have some pride," Vegeta said sternly and she nodded her head softly._

_"Okay." She choked back her final sob and kicked Zarbon as hard as she could. He dropped her and she quickly ran back to Vegeta. She hugged him one last time and whispered into his ear, "I love you. You'll beat him someday. I know you will 'cause you're my big brother." Zarbon yanked on her red hair and drug her out of the room for the last time._

_He led her down the hall and eventually adjusted his hold on her to toss her over his shoulder again. Once out of sight of the others, she began to struggle violently once more, sinking her sharp canines into Zarbon's shoulder. He howled as he tossed her into a wall and she slid down pressing a hand to the back of her head where she'd been struck. She blinked dumbly at her hand as she pulled it back in front of her face to see the red, viscous fluid stuck to it. Zarbon growled as he transformed into a far more hideous looking creature and when Tanga noticed she screamed. _

_Zarbon grabbed her up by the throat and tossed her into a space pod. She pounded on the door for a few moments but realized that no one was going to come and rescue her. Without warning she was thrown backwards as the pod was launched into space. She stared out the window at Frieza's quickly disappearing ship. Out of the corner of her eye, she saw her destination--a black hole that was quickly sucking her in._

_"Veggie, save me please!"_

* * *

A/N: Please read & review! I want to get people's opinion because I'm doing a lot of rewriting before I post new chapters. I feel as though a lot of those rewrites have to do with character and not so much just grammatical things, so opinions are very important to me right now.


	3. Chapter 3: World Martial Arts Tournament

**Disclaimer: If I did own DBZ, Goku wouldn't be a jerk and trick people into letting him be the hero all the time so guys like Krillin, Piccolo, and Vegeta could get a little more credit.**

**Chapter 3: The World Martial Arts Tournament Begins**

Nine months passed and Tessa had grown extremely strong under Piccolo's training. The nightmares still came each night haunting her sleep and often stopping her from getting any restful sleep at all. Still Piccolo hadn't revealed her past to her but instead had filled her head with hopes of furthering her training by competing in the World Martial Arts Tournament.

"You know I'll win."

"Don't be so confident."

"I bet if I really, really wanted to, I could beat you."

"Not in your present condition."

"Humph. Yee of little faith. You're such a downer. You're an awesome trainer so I'm sure I'll be fine." Tessa stood outside the arena for the tournament and did a pose flexing her arm. The muscles were toned and defined and several guys passing by stopped to stare. She flashed them a winning smile before looking back up at Piccolo. "Come on, if I don't catch them gawking at my good looks, I'll catch them with my uppercut," she said demonstrating on him and paused just as her knuckles tapped his chin. "Besides, I've got so many tricks up my sleeve…"

"And if you were wise, you'd keep those for the final rounds." Tessa nodded her head in understanding.

"I'm getting nervous though. I mean, I'm sure I'm strong enough to beat these guys but I've never fought anyone except you. You just gotta promise not to disown me or anything. You're my cheerleader now."

"If you don't hurry, you won't even get in for the preliminaries." Tessa grinned as she waved and ran into the arena.

"Don't forget your promise!" With that she disappeared inside. Piccolo frowned. Perhaps he'd been wrong to tell her that if she won he'd tell her how to get to King Kai for more training. But he didn't know of many other trainers still living on Earth who could provide her with the challenge she needed to keep growing.

* * *

Tessa went inside and felt like she'd walked into a whole other world. She was surrounded by fighters who were all much bigger than her. The only ones she was even somewhat bigger than were the kids running around entering the junior division competition. She herself was just barely too old for the junior division which cut off at age fifteen. She had turned sixteen after only a few months of training with Piccolo. There had been no sweet sixteen party for her. She pushed her way through the crowd and found the chart listing.

She looked down at her chest at her registration number--lucky thirteen--and then back at the chart. She was fighting on the first platform for the preliminaries. She made her way back and entertained herself by watching the other matches.

"Fighters thirteen and fourteen please enter the ring." She grinned as she jumped up and watched for her opponent to appear as well. A large barreling man slowly walked onto the platform and laughed at her.

"This is too easy. Just an ittle wittle girl." A load roar of laughter came from those watching and Tessa shot them all glares.

"You know the bigger they are, the harder they fall."

"FIGHT!" Without warning Tessa popped down low and delivered a swift kick that knocked the man's feet out from under him. He fell backwards off the platform and was immediately disqualified. "Fighter thirteen wins by opponent leaving the ring!"

A hush fell as she jumped back down. "You can all have a piece of me if you want. The more you laugh, the more I'm gonna be pissed." They parted to allow her a front row position to watch the following matches. It hadn't taken her long to earn some respect and they still hadn't seen anything yet.

* * *

It was going to be a while until she got to fight again. There were so many competitors that she wandered off to watch other platforms' bouts but she was stopped at the first one she came to.

"Fighters one-forty-one and one-forty-two please enter the ring." The first fighter to step up was a handsome boy somewhat close to her own age. He had blonde hair that fell into his eyes and was tall and muscular with a tan. She felt her bottom jaw drop and pushed it shut again with her hand. He glanced her way and winked before looking at his opponent. She leaned against the platform and watched with fascination as the match started. The blonde fought with little effort and looked bored.

The two fighters exchanged punches but it was obvious from the start that the blonde was going to win. He finished the match off quickly by grabbing his opponents arm and bodily throwing him out of the ring. "Fighter one-forty-one wins!"

The blonde jumped down out of the ring near her and Tessa got a better look at him. Even after nearly a year of training, Tessa had only grown to be 4'6" herself, so the fact that the fighter was a little over a foot taller than her certainly didn't put him into any extraordinary height ranges. He was dressed simply in a pair of jeans and a white muscle shirt, and was extremely well toned. "So you're the chick on everyone's tongue."

"Oh…I wouldn't…really?" She could feel herself blushing under his gaze.

"Well, I don't see too many other spiky red haired girls that made it through the first round." He was right. What few girls had entered had almost all been eliminated.

She unconsciously reached to her ponytail and laughed nervously. "Gee, I coulda sworn I'd seen a half dozen walking around."

"None as pretty as you though."

She opened her mouth to respond but heard her number being called. "Fighters thirteen and sixteen please enter the ring."

"I…uh…gotta go."

"Perhaps we'll face each other later on."

"Yeah…'til then." She turned and ran back to her fighting platform.

"Last call, fighter thirteen."

"I'm here!" She placed her hands on the platform and used them for leverage to easily jump onto the platform.

"Bout time, Girlie."

"Didn't you see what happened to the last guy who insulted me? What's up with all the chauvinistic pigs?"

"FIGHT!"

"You want an insult babe…fine. You'll be an easier knock out than my grandmother."

Tessa narrowed her eyes at the lug and hurtled straight at him. She delivered a sharp upper cut to his jaw that sent him down for the count. "One…two…three…Fighter thirteen wins by K.O.!"

"I'd like to see your gram try that." She muttered.

When Tessa got down from the platform she saw Piccolo watching through the doorway. She still didn't understand why he hadn't entered the competition but to be honest she was kind of grateful. All of these guys she could beat if she set her mind to it. No big…but Piccolo…she'd been fighting against him for months and had only come close a few times.

"Now that was a good match." Tessa was brought out of her thoughts and tore her gaze from Piccolo to see the blond behind her.

"Hi again. We gotta stop meeting like this." She could feel herself turning as red as her hair.

"I don't mind at all. I don't believe I got your name before."

"Oh…it's…um…"

"Um? That's unusual."

"No! I mean it's Tessellation…Tessa…Tess."

"That's pretty. My name's Melon."

"That's really unusual. That's like my friend who's watching me…" She looked back but Piccolo was gone. "Well, his name's Piccolo. You know like the instrument." She was babbling but for some reason the blonde seemed interested.

"Piccolo? Hmm…that sounds familiar to me." His brows furrowed over his sharp blue eyes for a moment before relaxing.

"Oh…I wouldn't know why. He's some kind of hermit who doesn't get out much. Total loner."

"Not like you though. I bet you're hitting the clubs every night."

"Not exactly. I'm more of a train 'til you crash then wake up really early to watch the sunrise type of girl."

"You sound like a dedicated fighter."

"I'm trying. How long have you been training?"

"Since I was fifteen, so six years. You?"

"Oh…well…nine months." She hung her head and glanced off to the side. _That sounds so stupid compared to him._

"Nine months! Wow, you're really good if you've only been training that long. After the preliminaries are over, I'd like to meet up with you. You know, so we can talk some more."

"What? Oh, um…sure. I guess my friend won't mind."

"Then it's a date." He flashed her a charming smile and left her leaving feeling dazed and confused.

"A date…A date!? What did I just agree to?" She didn't have time to think it over anymore before she was again being called up to the fighting platform.

"Fighters nine and thirteen please enter the ring!"

For the first time, Tessa found herself going up against a female competitor. The girl had long dark hair pulled back into a ponytail and a dark complexion. She looked Indian and very determined to win. "Good luck." Tessa held her hand out to shake her opponent's and the other girl took it.

"I won't need it." Her grip was hard and brisk and Tessa was shocked by her strength. Tessa rubbed her hand before awaiting the start of the fight.

"FIGHT!" The girl was quick too and was in Tessa's face before she knew it. The girl threw a high punch at Tessa's face and Tessa did a back flip to get out of the way. She regained her stance as the girl came again and she was able to easily block each punch. She gave the girl a hard shot to the stomach, which sent her stumbling back a few steps. Tessa used the space to deliver a hard flying kick to the side of the girl's face. The other girl stood a moment longer before collapsing and tripping off the stage. "Fighter thirteen wins!"

Tanga hurriedly jumped off the platform at the girl's side and knelt down next to her to make sure she was okay. She helped the girl back up to her feet so that she could lean back against the platform. "Are you gonna be okay? I didn't mean to hit you so hard."

"That's why it's a fight." She rubbed her jaw absentmindedly as she leaned back against a wall. "You're awesome. What's your name?"

"Tessellation…but you can just call me Tessa. And you?"

"Trish. It was awesome fighting you."

"Thanks." Tessa grinned.

"The fights will resume in one hour! If you fail to show up…you will be disqualified."

"Come on, I'll treat you to some chow." Tessa linked her arm in Trish's and led her away from the fighting platforms.

They went outside and found a stand selling burgers and sodas and Tessa insisted on paying for both of theirs. They found a table then that was off to the far end away from the rest of the fighters who were either griping about their unjust losses or proclaiming their greatness. "So what were you gonna do with a million Zeni anyway?"

"I was going to pay for my brother's surgery. My parents just don't have the cash so I thought maybe I could pay for it."

"Oh."

"What about you? I bet you've got great plans."

"Actually not. I'll tell you what. If I win, I'll give you the money. I don't need it, not where I'm gonna go."

"Where are you going?"

"I'm going to go train with King Kai."

"King Who? Cute joke, Tessa."

"I'm not joking. He's like the most awesome trainer in the universe. Well, one of them at least. My friend, he told me that once I train with this guy, that I'll eventually be able to train under Supreme Kai who's the ruler of the universe!"

"I think your friend is pulling your leg. Sounds like a bunch of hooey," Trish said taking a big bite out of her burger.

"Well, I believe him. He wouldn't joke with me like that. Besides, once you meet him…you'll believe just about anything."

"Yeah, why's that?"

"Tessa!" Tessa forced herself not to wince under that growl. Piccolo was standing directly behind her. She tilted her head back to look up at him and smiled.

"Hi Piccolo. This is Trish. Trish this is my friend Piccolo."

Trish stared up at Piccolo and nearly spat out her soda before forcefully swallowing. "You're green!" Tessa couldn't help but grin even more at her new friend's expression of awe. "Okay, you're totally right. You would have to believe just about anything after meeting him."

"I thought I told you…"

"I'm sixteen, Piccolo. I'm going to be sociable. Like it or not. Oh, I've got a date, tonight after prelims…I don't know when I'll be back so don't worry, okay?"

"No, it's not okay. If you make it through preliminaries, the quarter finals start tomorrow. You need to rest, not be out partying."

"Did I say party? No, I said date. Just a quiet dinner to discuss fighting strategies."

"He's another fighter?"

"Well, duh, are there any guys here who aren't fighters?" Tessa asked gesturing at the surrounding tables filled with guys wearing muscle shirts and gym shorts.

"Wait!" Tessa stopped bickering with Piccolo to look back at Trish who'd been pretty much left out of the conversation. "Who you going out with tonight?" Tessa looked around quickly to try and find the blonde and spotted him sitting at a table surrounded by other fighters.

"Over there," she pointed, "The blonde guy with the muscle shirt."

"Oh him…no wonder you said yes! He's a total babe."

Piccolo cleared his throat but the signal was missed.

"I know, I thought my heart was gonna fall out of my chest when he asked me. Do you know who he is?"

"No. How'd you even get to talk to him?"

"I was wandering around checking out the other fights and saw his. When he finished he jumped down and started talking to me and said he'd heard about my first match where I knocked the guy out of the ring."

"UH HMMM!"

"Oh, what Piccy?"

"Don't call me that. You should be concentrating on your upcoming fights. Not picnicking or planning dates." He was agitated that she wasn't paying attention to the competition and seemed more concerned with dating.

"I have been. I've already checked out the guy I'll be going up against next. He's right over there." Tessa thumbed behind her to a guy who had the number eight pinned to his back. "He's got brute strength but he's kind of low on the brains."

As she spoke the guy shoveled an entire sub into his mouth in one bite. Dressing and toppings dribbled down his front. Trish looked completely grossed out watching him and pushed her burger away in disgust. "You gonna finish that?" Trish looked at Tessa like she was nuts for even asking but she ignored it as she finished it off licking her fingers.

"You can't judge your opponents on appearances. He may be better than you think."

"I'm sure I can handle him." Tessa turned slightly to narrow her eyes at Piccolo. He realized that he wasn't going to be able to change her mind. She'd just have to learn the hard way.

* * *

Tessa was irritated with Piccolo to say the least. It was almost like he didn't trust her judgment in the slightest. That fat guy wasn't even worth worrying about. She'd get through this match in a minute tops. The guy would probably have to be a knock out because it'd be difficult to toss him out. She was putting all of her attention on this match.

"Fighters eight and thirteen please enter the ring!" Tessa jumped up and glanced around for the fatso. She saw the blonde looking on as he waited for his match.

She missed the appearance of her opponent and he cracked his knuckles menacingly while he waited for the start. "FIGHT!" Tessa saw Melon wave at her and he winked as well and as Tessa waved back, she nearly lost her match because of it. Her opponent swung a hard right at her that sent her skidding back several feet. She caught her footing just before she reached the edge. It wouldn't have mattered if she'd gone off except she'd be revealing her powers in only the preliminary matches. It was too soon for the light show.

"Didn't your mother ever tell you not to hit a girl?" She shook her head to clear her thoughts. _Okay, so maybe that wasn't all of my attention._

"You're no girl. You're too damn ugly." She narrowed her eyes and jumped up and over him as he tried to kick at her. He was sluggish compared to her lightening reflexes. As she jumped she used his shoulder help push herself up and over and twisted in the air to face his back. She pushed off the ground and kicked him square in the back. He fell off balance and stumbled forward several steps right off the platform.

"Fighter thirteen wins by opponent leaving the ring!"

She jumped down off the platform near her hefty opponent. "You really shouldn't talk, buddy." He grunted as he pushed himself up but hung his head as he walked away.

Tessa fought the urge to wander off and watch Melon's match. She knew that Piccolo would never forgive her if she didn't stick around and see who her next opponent would be.

"Fighters twenty and thirty-two please enter the ring!" Both of the fighters looked pretty lean. Both were obviously good and had been training a long time. One was older, probably in his thirties while the other was closer to her age. She watched with interest as the fight began. The older was definitely more experienced but beginning to get past his fighting prime. He wasn't nearly as fast and was slightly behind in the strength department.

Watching them fight, Tessa began to wonder if her lack of experience would hinder her. She was almost like the last guy she'd just fought. Pure power and brute force. She wasn't that good at strategizing yet or anything. Piccolo had done a good job at training her and it was partly her fault if she came here and humiliated herself. She was impatient and didn't want to wait another four years. When Piccolo had made the deal with her that if she won the tournament she could train with King Kai she'd gotten excited. It was an opportunity she didn't want to pass up. Besides, these Kais were ancient and would know more than Piccolo about who she really was.

Thinking of Piccolo, lately, more than ever, she'd been getting the feeling that he was keeping something from her. He always asked her how she'd slept and if she remembered any of her dreams. It was a strange thing to ask. For the second time in the last few minutes she found her mind wandering. If it wasn't Melon interrupting her thoughts, it was Piccolo. _Damn men and that effect they have._

She began to watch the fight again focusing on each of their moves and how the defended and attacked. The older seemed to be more erratic trying to mess with the younger's head. However, the younger fighter was more direct in his approach using a consistent pattern of attack. Two punches, a knee to kick, then a left, right kick, and repeat. It was almost like a dance with him. So long as he kept the pattern, he stayed on balance.

Despite the fact that the older fighter recognized his opponent's pattern, he just wasn't quick enough to get back on the offensive. He was slowly being backed out of the ring…and he stepped out. "Fighter thirty-two wins by opponent leaving the ring!"

The younger guy held his hands up in the air like a boxing champ. "Who's the best?!? Hoo ha! You're all looking at the champ, right here baby!" The way the winner was acting, he was extremely cocky. That meant he'd most likely underestimate her simply because she was smaller and female.

He finally jumped down and allowed the next match to go on. Tessa knew that this was the last match before hers but she could see that behind her Melon's match was still going on. It was almost like he was purposefully prolonging it. She looked back at her own fighting platform and eyed up the two fighters. They seemed like equals so it should take them a while. She pushed through the crowd to watch Melon finish his match without another thought.

She managed to get up next to the platform and watched as he danced around his opponent. He was light on his feet and almost seemed like he was floating on air. She banished the thought though because she doubted that there would be any other fighters capable of flight like she was.

She caught his eye and a smile played across his lips. He dodged another fist and delivered two of his own. Both connected and his opponent backed off squinting though the swelling. Using the new space, Melon used a series of kicks to keep his opponent on a backward spiral. He kept his hands up towards his face trying to block attacks but Melon moved them lower to his gut. It was almost like Melon was getting stronger with each punch that connected. Eventually his opponent stepped backwards off the platform. People parted and let him fall all the way to the floor. "Fighter one forty-one wins by opponent leaving the ring!"

Melon jumped down and caught Tessa by the shoulders. "What'd you think?"

"You're awesome!" she gushed feeling every bit like the school girl she used to be.

"Thank you."

"I…uh…I should get back. Don't want to miss my own fight." She smiled up at him and thought she'd wind up melting right there in his hands.

"Sure thing. We can leave right after you finish, if you like."

"That works for me."

She turned away from him and resisted the urge to jump up and click her heels or something else childish. She did get a big goofy grin on her face. Her first date was about to start as soon as she kicked some cocky guy's butt. As she reached the platform, the other fight finished and she immediately jumped up. Her opponent seemed just as anxious to start as he was up there as soon as she was.

"Ready to eat dirt, chicky?"

"As if, numb nuts. Get a clue." She was tempted to knock him out that instant just for being a jerk.

"FIGHT!" She let him come at her first and decided to pull a slight stunt. She used zanzoken leaving an after image of her behind. The dip wad struck at her image and looked stupefied when all he hit was air. It also threw him off balance and she swung a fist around, striking him from behind. He spun around and stared at her as he fell off the platform. "Fighter thirteen will advance to the quarter final matches tomorrow."

She jumped down from the platform and immediately Melon linked his arm in hers. "Ready to go?"

"As I'll ever be." He moved his arm to around her waist as he guided her off.

"That was a pretty good performance. You moved so fast that your opponent was attacking air."

"It's no big deal."

"You've gotta be kidding! You beat all of your opponents in less than a minute."

"Well, thirty seconds to be exact. I'm sure you could've done the same. It seemed like you were always toying with your opponents. I'm just a straight shooter. Get it done and over with so I can move on to the next thing."

"Well, I hope you only do that in your fighting."

"What's that supposed to mean?" She looked up at him confused as they walked away from the competition site. She didn't know where he was leading her but she really didn't care.

"Nothing. Don't worry about it." He gave her another charming smile and immediately she forgot what had bothered her.

"So where are we going?"

"With the competition, there's a carnival. I thought that would be fun."

"I haven't been to one since I was little. Probably since I was six, when I first moved in with my adopted parents."

"Well, then you're in for a treat. Japanese carnivals are the best. You'll be so overwhelmed you'll just want to watch the people."

"Oh, I don't think so."

* * *

Melon was right about the carnival. It was amazing. Women walked around in brightly colored kimonos and their dark hair tied in knots above their head. Everyone wore traditional sandals and Melon insisted on outfitting Tessa properly in the festive wear.

He bought her a purple kimono covered in green ivy so that it matched her fighting uniform. She spun around before a mirror to examine her appearance and smiled. It'd been a long time since she'd played dress up as well. She almost didn't recognize herself. Melon watched her, a grin playing on his lips. "Well, what do you think?" she asked.

"You look drop dead gorgeous." Tessa could feel the heat rising in her cheeks and it only got worse as he tucked a stray strand of hair back behind her ear. "Absolutely perfect. Shall we?" He offered her his arm and led her back towards the festivities.

"So where are you from?" he asked as they walked through the center of the carnival's festivities stopping every now and then to point things out to her.

"America. You?"

"South of here."

"Oh, you don't look Japanese," she said knotting her brows.

"I guess you could call me a military brat of sorts since I move all over the place all the time."

Tessa nodded and gazed away at the sights for a while before turning her attention back to Melon. "What kind of name is Melon, anyway? Family name? Nickname?"

"More like my family decided to hate me from the start. My full name is Melon Ball, so you get the picture."

"Yeah, that's pretty harsh," she sympathetically.

"What about you?"

"I was adopted and my mom was a math teacher, so she wanted to name me for the most beautiful thing she knew, thus, Tessellation."

"See, now that's actually a good reason behind a bad name. My parents just figured it'd be funny," he cracked a smile though as he wrapped an arm around her waist again.

"Are they here for the tournament, you know, to support you?"

"No, they died when I was younger," Melon said glancing away before turning back to force a smile. "You?"

"My mom died in a car accident when I was little," Tessa said and left it at that. She didn't particularly feel like discussing her adopted father.

"Well, on that dour note," he said, leading her over to the side of a pool where she was handed a small paddle made of tissue paper and tried to catch a gold fish. She laughed when she thought she'd finally gotten one, but the paper broke and the fish dropped back into the water splashing Melon. He wiped off his face with the back of his hand before standing back up. "Well, that was fun."

"I don't remember ever having this much fun."

"We've only gotten started."

He led her up to a giant Ferris Wheel and Tessa shook her head violently. No, I've always hated this ride. I know it's stupid, I'm not even afraid of heights. It's just that drop, I keep thinking the seat's gonna fall right off."

"I won't let anything happen. Promise." He took both of her hands in his own and walked backwards leading her towards the ride.

"I really don't want to."

"It'll be fun." She tried to pull back but felt for a moment like she couldn't and then she was in line. _Is he really that much stronger than me? I pulled as hard as I could!_ A few minutes later, Tessa found herself being seated on the Ferris Wheel next to Melon. He placed his arm across her shoulders and gave them a gentle squeeze. "It'll be fine, Tess. I promise."

"Yeah, I know. I told you it was a silly feeaarrr!" The ride began moving as the seat swung backwards. She gripped the hem of her kimono at the jerk and continued gripping the fabric even after the seat had stopped swinging. Melon smiled at her kindly as he peeled her fingers away from the fabric. He held her hands in his and gently rubbed the backs of them with his thumbs.

She could almost feel all the stress and tension leaving. It was so relaxing that she didn't even notice that she was on the ride anymore. All she could notice were his blue eyes that were staring back into her own. "I'm sorry."

"For?" he asked.

"I was kinda staring off into space there." He didn't say anything, just smiled as he gave her hands a squeeze. Again she felt like all of her worries were just slipping away.

Eventually the ride came to an end and she stepped down feeling light headed. She didn't know if the feeling was from her fear, or some kind of effect that Melon had on her.

Overhead there was a large boom signaling the start of the fireworks and he led her to the end of the carnival where they were setting the fireworks off in a field. Tessa sat down in the grass and ran her fingers over the blades in silence as she watched the explosions overhead. She didn't even realize that her hand had slipped into his again while she sat there. She yawned lazily and rested her head on his shoulder falling almost instantly asleep.

"Tess." She opened her eyes to see Melon shaking her shoulder. The fireworks were over and people were milling away.

"I can't believe I slept through that."

"You must be exhausted. I'll walk you back." They walked side by side back to the arena in peaceful silence. When they got there, Melon paused and Tessa did the same next to him.

"Something wrong?"

"I don't know where you're staying."

"Oh, well, don't worry about it. I'll make it the rest of the way on my own." Melon considered it but nodded before turning back the way they'd come. Tessa watched him walking away and waited until he was completely out of sight before she kicked her power up a notch and took to the sky.

She and Piccolo were camping slightly outside of the city. Apparently, he didn't want her getting soft by sleeping in a real bed since she hadn't had one in nearly a year. She'd barely reached camp before she started feeling light headed. She landed and rolled to a stop near the fire that Piccolo had built and found that she could barely lift her head and almost immediately Piccolo was hovering over her. "Where have you been? What happened to you?"

"I don't know. I'm just really tired." She rolled over and stared up at her green friend as she allowed her arms to flop out to the side.

"I told you that you shouldn't have gone out." She suddenly found a burst of energy and sat straight up.

"What's wrong with you? Are you jealous of the fact that I've met some new people and I'm not spending every waking second with you? I don't get it, Piccolo, so why don't you tell me straight up." Her angry burst seemed to sap her of all of her remaining strength and her eyelids fluttered as she collapsed back down with Piccolo catching her by the shoulders.

"That's ridiculous. I'm concerned because you shouldn't be like this. Something's wrong and I have a bad feeling about your new friend."

"You are jealous! You just don't like Melon," she muttered.

"He's your opponent. You should treat him that way. You can't honestly believe that he's trying to be your friend. He's using you."

"That's not true. We had a good time just hanging out. Why do you have to constantly worry over me? You're not my father by a long shot so stop acting like it." Almost instantly she regretted her choice of words. Had he not been a better father figure than her adoptive father? She bit her lower lip to keep herself from saying anything else she might regret.

"I'm trying to look out for your best interest. I can't do that if you are unwilling to listen to me." He set her down on the ground and stood up. "Now, I suggest you sleep. It's going to be more difficult tomorrow." Tessa didn't need told to go to sleep--she just passed out anyway, nearly as soon as her head hit the ground.

* * *

A/N: Hello all. I would really like to get some reviews to find out if you think it's too slow going because of the OC-centricity. I really do have some goodies planned once Tessa joins the mainstream plot of DBZ. Let's see, there's that time with the baseball bat and somebody's car, somebody's a straight shooting whiskey girl, and oh yeah! we'll meet Vegeta's mom. All things to come--eventually.

Pretty please, read & review.


	4. Chapter 4: The Quarter Finals

**Disclaimer: If I owned DBZ we'd be reading graphic novels rather than manga. Just saying.**

**Chapter 4: The Quarter Finals**

Tessa awoke the next morning to find she was still wearing the kimono. Piccolo wasn't to be seen anywhere and she changed quickly into her gi. She felt a lot better now then she had last night and powered up enough to fly back to the arena. She didn't know what time it was, and she had a feeling that she was late. _Why didn't Piccolo wake me? Is he still upset about last night and Melon?_

She touched down in a back alley a short distance away from the arena and sprinted the rest of the way. She found the entrance to be crowded by spectators who were busy trying to get seats for the first public match. She frowned at the mass confusion and sprinted around the corner following the wall around the arena. She found the back entrance and pushed through the door. A monk stood nearby and smiled when he saw her.

"Come, come. You'll be late to choose the order." The monk turned and led her down a hall to an open courtyard where the other seven fighters were all waiting. Melon smiled at her from the end of the line. A dark haired man appeared to be the announcer for the matches and stood near a box held by another monk. "This is the last fighter," the monk told the announcer who looked at Tanga and grinned. There had to be Vaseline on his teeth. He couldn't stop grinning and it looked uncomfortable.

"Alright then. We're ready to get started. It's simple, really. Each of you will choose a ball from this box. On it will be a number which will place you into the standings. Today, will be the quarterfinals, tomorrow the semi-finals and then the final match. Good luck to you all."

"I'll go first." A tall man in his late twenties stepped forward. The announcer motioned for him to go ahead and the man reached into the box pulling out the number seven.

"Last tournament's champion, Micalo, will be in the seventh standing." Tessa gave him a good looking over and decided that four years was plenty of time for the guy to have gone soft. He didn't look like much of a champion to her. But what was it that Piccolo had told her…_don't judge by appearances_. That was it.

Melon moved forward to pick next and chose the number two. He gave her a flattering smile as he stepped back.

Yet another new face went forward to choose. He picked the number four. "Titanus will be in the fourth standing."

Tessa stood back and waited to go until last. She finally chose her ball, the only one left--number five.

"The standings are as follows: In the first round, Krack Jaw versus Melon, next will be Zeus versus Titanus, the third round will be between Tesselation and Samson, the final round will be held between Micalo and Jack Manson. Would Krack Jaw and Melon please go directly to the arena for the first match?"

Tessa watched her new friend walk away and followed the other fighters to a waiting area. She heard the roar of the crowd as the announcer began by announcing the seatings and the basic fighting rules: win by kill, knock out, or the opponent stepping outside of the platform. While a kill would be a win, it would also be immediate disqualification from the tournament.

* * *

Tessa quickly grew bored sitting still. She left the room where the other fighters were lifting weights or sitting in meditation. She'd never understood meditation. Piccolo had tried with her so many times and she would just get fidgety. Her muscles would twitch begging to be used. It didn't matter what she did, picture serene settings, hot guys, the perfect energy blast, she couldn't concentrate on anything for more than five minutes. She swore she had ADD but Piccolo didn't understand what that was.

She found herself leaning against the archway that opened onto the fighting platform. The stands were brimming over with people yelling and shouting for their favored fighter. She glanced around and saw Trish waving madly next to Piccolo. She couldn't read Piccolo's expression to tell if he was still mad at her or not. She waved back to Trish who cheered loudly.

She turned her attention then to Melon and his match. He looked stronger if that was possible and more energetic. He danced from one foot to another in anticipation for the start of the match.

"If everyone's ready, let's get the first match underway!" Immediately, Melon disappeared but his opponent was being batted around by an invisible force. Tessa blinked a few times and realized that Melon was moving fast, pretty fast like she did on bad days. He was good, but it was a performance that she still felt she could beat.

Melon eventually started to slow down like he was running out of energy from the speed and Krack Jaw was finally able to see Melon and began to attack back. He was strong, but his size made him slow. Melon was still slightly quicker and was able to dodge most of the punches. Krack Jaw looked frustrated at the futility of his attacks and began to pick it up a notch. His punches became harder and longer and their effect was pushing Melon back. A few more feet and Melon would step off the platform. Krack Jaw kept pushing and Melon was unable to get out of his warpath.

Melon was now literally balancing on the edge. Krack Jaw looked confident as he punched Melon one more time and he slid off the edge. But instead of falling the one and a half feet to the grass, he hung in mid air. He knew how to fly just like she did. Tessa frowned, she hadn't sensed that he was that strong. Besides, he didn't seem to have that many special techniques. But then again, hadn't he been moving so fast that everyone watching excluding herself and Piccolo had been unable to see him?

Everyone watching gasped in shock and amazement. Most applauded enjoying the trick while others hissed about cheating. Melon smiled broadly and glanced her way. She was almost sure his expression was saying, "thanks." She looked back to the crowd to see Trish gaping and Piccolo frowning. He didn't like the way this looked and Tessa had to think that if Piccolo didn't like something, then it looked bad.

Melon rose a few more inches and moved forward towards Krack Jaw who was quickly wheeling back out of his way. "What are you, man?"

"The winner of this match." Melon dropped back down to the platform and gave his opponent a solid kick to the chest that lifted him into the air and off the platform. Most applauded but some were puzzled by Melon's abilities. Tessa wished she had time to question Piccolo about past tournaments but she wasn't sure how much time she would have with only one more match before her own.

Melon walked through the arch and took her by the elbow right around the bend and out of sight from the spectators. "What'd you think?"

"I didn't know you could do that."

"There's a lot of things that I can do. You just got to wait and see." He kissed her on the forehead before winking and walking away.

"What was that for?"

"For luck!" She felt lightheaded and decided it was the fact that she must be blushing extremely hard. She rubbed her head and tried to get back into fighting mode. She couldn't get distracted by something like that. She walked away deciding she didn't care much to see the next fight between Zeus and Titanus. Even though the match would be a good opportunity to watch for patterns and such, she was suddenly in no mood. And if Melon was right in what he said, neither of the fighters going into their match now would get past him.

* * *

Piccolo stared at the wall, sensing both Tessa and Melon's energy. He didn't like the way that Melon had improved over night and he liked even less the way he'd taken to Tessa. Trish looked at him strangely as he continued to stare at the wall. "Something amazing about that wall?"

"Nothing in particular," he said quietly. He turned his attention away when he sensed Melon had grown even stronger as Tessa grew slightly weaker.

* * *

As Tessa wandered she ran into another monk. "Are you lost?"

"Kind of. I'm looking for some kind of records. You know, to find out about the past tournaments."

"Of course. Come this way." He led her down a maze of halls and left her at a door. He stood silently and she assumed she was to go in. She cracked the door open and looked inside. It was like a shrine to the martial arts. Weapons were enclosed in glass cases and books stacked the shelves.

"May I?" The monk nodded and she went in. As she passed each glass case she peered inside. Each weapon had a card inside with it labeling what it was, how old it was and who'd used it. She came to one case that was dated approximately to be twenty-five hundred years old. There was no other information other than its estimated age. It was a red staff, with a matching red case. She had an undeniable urge to touch it but she simply allowed herself to trace her fingers along one of the case's edges before wandering away.

She moved past it to the books and chose the oldest one she could find. It was beyond ancient and was very well preserved. She didn't have time to look at it very closely as she turned back to the room's entrance. Still holding the book she walked back to the door. "May I take this with me? I believe it'll answer a lot of my questions."

The monk considered it a moment. "You must promise to bring it back."

"Totally. Wouldn't break my word for nothing." He nodded and she rushed back towards the waiting area. She stripped her windbreaker off and wrapped it around the ancient tome before stashing them in a corner. She adjusted her gi across her shoulders and reknotted the belt as she moved towards the entranceway.

She got back to the archway just in time to see Zeus lying knocked out on the ground. "Titanus wins by K.O.!" The crowd roared with excitement as the second match ended.

"Next up will be the only female finalist, Tessellation going up against Samson." Above everyone else Tessa could hear Trish screaming her heart out. Piccolo stood with his arms folded over his chest looking solemn. She stepped out onto the platform along side of Samson and they met in the center and shook hands and bowed as was Japanese custom. She backed up a few feet to make room for attacks and stood with her fists down at her sides, her right foot back slightly and leaning forward even less. It was the stance Piccolo had taught her on her first day. But by now she'd learned to defend it from everything.

She motioned for Samson to make the first move. She'd always fared best against Piccolo when she started on defense. He threw a high punch aiming for her face but she dodged and kneed him in the chest throwing him off balance. He stumbled for a step but quickly regained his composure to drop down and kick at her feet. She jumped using his shoulders for force and did a flip for the fun of it. As she came out of the flip she directed a hard kick to his back that sent him stumbling once more.

When she landed she was momentarily aware of the crowd shouting and cheering. They were cheering for her. She caught sight of Piccolo who was frowning still and she couldn't figure out why. What was she doing wrong? Was this taking too long? Wasn't she supposed to give the crowd a good show? Hell, she was having fun. Something she couldn't exactly claim to have had when sparring with him.

During her momentary lapse of concentration, Samson went on the attack again. He lifted her up above his head and tossed her from the ring. She was about to land in Piccolo's arms when she forced her power up to catch herself in mid air.

Her feet were inches from Piccolo's face and she could see he was fuming now. She gulped before lifting herself several feet into the air. Now that her little gift was out in the open, she might as well use it to her advantage. Samson looked stupefied. He though he had this match in the bag and now everything had turned. She continued to hover over the platform for several moments before lowering herself again. She needed the time to refocus. This wasn't about showing up Melon; it wasn't about showing off for the crowd. It was about winning this match and the whole tournament so she could train with King Kai.

She lowered herself back down so that she was level again with Samson. "How'd you do that?" he asked. He watched her like at any moment she could burst into flames and become the devil reincarnate.

She smiled as she put herself back into her favorite defensive stance. "Lots of practice, big boy. Lots of it. I suggest that if you're holding anything back, that you don't."

"This doesn't change anything. Now I know I can't toss you outta the ring." He gritted his teeth as he came at her again. Samson threw one punch after another at her but none connected. Tessa was moving too fast and was finally fully focused on the match. She still felt strangely weak but felt she was more than strong enough to beat this guy.

She turned the tables and began her own attacks by kneeing him in the stomach. He groaned clutching his gut and it was enough to give Tessa the upper hand. She used his bent over position to give her next punch more leverage. She knocked him into the air and moved quickly to hover above him.

People gasped as she disappeared for a moment. When she reappeared, she brought her hands together and used them to hammer Samson's body back down. He hit the stone platform with a sickening crack as a tile broke.

Tessa gently lowered herself back down as the announcer counted. "One…Two…Three…" Tessa began to hope that he would hurry because if Samson managed to get back up, she wasn't so sure if she'd still be able to fight herself. For some reason, she was feeling drained as if using flight had taken every last ounce of strength in her. "Nine…Ten! Tessa wins by K.O.!"

Tessa looked around at the cheering crowd and felt as if they were spinning on their own. She could feel herself falling and the last thing she heard was Trish's frantic voice crying, "Tessa!"

_

* * *

_

Tanga sat in a field of tall grass watching two boys wrestle. They were training, trying to become stronger and their determination to outdo each other made for a good show. She clapped and cheered for the younger of the two who had long black hair that stood on end. When the older boy tripped and tumbled she laughed and jeered, "You're gonna trip over your own tail, Raditz."

_"Why'd you let her come along, Vegeta?" the older boy asked as he pushed himself back up to his feet. He shot a nasty glare at Tanga before looking down at the much shorter, younger boy._

_"I thought there should be a witness to your humiliation," the younger boy, Vegeta, sneered._

_"You're full of it."_

_"And you're full of hot air, Raditz!" she shouted from the sidelines, cupping her hands around her mouth._

_"You think you're a fighter now, too?" Raditz snorted._

_Tanga pouted as she stood up. "I bet I'm just as good as you, if not better!"_

_Vegeta crossed to her and put a hand on her shoulder. "Not today, Girl." He pushed gently on her shoulder until she sat down obediently. Once sitting, she stuck her tongue out at Raditz making Vegeta laugh as he walked back to finish his fight._

* * *

Tessa opened her eyes and blinked at the bright light. It seemed to surround her bouncing and reflecting off the white walls. The light was a distraction though as her dream slipped through the cracks and disappeared. When she'd been younger she wouldn't have the foggiest clue as to what she'd dreamt of the night before. But more recently she was starting to remember the tiniest snatches of dreams but usually only for the first few waking moments before she would be distracted—like she was now.

"You're okay!" Tessa turned her head to see Trish sitting beside the bed. "Oh thank God."

"What happened?" Tessa looked around the sterile room and decided she must have been in the hospital. She saw Piccolo leaning against the wall opposite her so that he was staring down at the foot of the bed.

"After you won, you did win by the way, you collapsed. Scared the crap out of me!"

"I don't understand."

Piccolo stood up straight and walked behind Trish. "Before your match, your energy level took a sharp dive."

"What?!? How?"

"I don't know, and I don't like it one bit."

"Well, I don't either!"

"Maybe it was aliens from outer space who sucked the energy right out of you so that they can use it to conquer the earth." Trish threw her head back in mock evil laughter and saw Piccolo standing over her. "Or not! Totally not. I mean it could be a really bad cold. Killer germs and all." She fidgeted slightly and looked horror stricken. She grabbed Tessa's hand up and gave it a tight squeeze. "Get better so you can kick butt tomorrow. See you at the arena."

"If I don't see you, I'll at least hear you." Trish grinned and winked as she walked out of the room. Tessa waited until she was certain Trish was out of earshot. "And now for the professional opinion."

"I actually like her first theory."

"Great, aliens are stealing my energy and everyone else is losing their minds," Tessa sighed as she pressed her head deeper into the pillows and stared at the ceiling.

"Maybe not aliens, but something or someone is taking your energy. What did you do at the arena?"

"Nothing, just waited around for my match."

Frowning, Piccolo held up the records book she'd borrowed. "Lying to me won't help."

"That's mine!" Tessa held her hands out for it but Piccolo kept holding the book near his head.

"No, it belongs to the tournament. Now how did you get it?"

"One of the officials lent it to me. Now stop treating me like a child."

"I'll keep treating you like one because you are just a child. Besides you have to keep focused on the here and now, not the past."

"When you first found me, you always wanted me to figure out my past. Now it's almost like you're keeping things from me."

Piccolo's eyes narrowed but he gave Tessa the book. "You won't find your answers here. The answers are inside you and only you can pull them out. Perhaps if you worked more on your meditation…" He could see she wasn't going to listen to anything he had to say. He pulled the chair away from the bed and by the door where he took a seat. He rested his chin on his hands and stared out the window.

Tessa opened the book and studied the rankings of some of the earliest tournaments--starting around twelve hundred. She flipped through nearly the entire book and didn't recognize a single name. "Wouldn't your 'super friends' have entered this tournament?"

"They did."

"Well, if they were so great, how come they're not in the finals?"

"Because those documents don't go far enough back in history. The Saiyans were here around seven hundred fifty."

"But that's pre-pre-historic! That's before civilization practically."

Piccolo sighed. Had they not already had this conversation? How quickly the girl seemed to forget certain things. "I told you. The Earth was wiped out by several powerful androids."

Tessa sighed as she closed the book and frowned at it accusingly. She'd wanted answers and the book had failed to provide any. "Why can't I remember who I am and where I'm from? I don't remember anything before I was adopted. It's like I just came out of thin air." She let the book slide down by her side to rest on the sheets as she turned to gaze back at Piccolo. He was watching her intently. "Have you ever had a dream that you just couldn't remember no matter how hard you tried?"

"I don't dream. Does your question have a point?"

"If it did, I lost it along the way."

"Tess!" Tessa looked up to see a smiling Melon entering. There was a swing in his step as he approached her bed. "I saw Trish and she told me that I would find you here." With a flourish he produced a bouquet of gorgeous red roses and presented them with a bow. "Beautiful flowers for the beautiful girl. But they pale in comparison to you now that you're side by side. I should go back to the florist and insist upon a refund."

Tessa smiled at Melon's joking demeanor. It was such a refreshing change compared to Piccolo. "You shouldn't do that. They're quite pretty. Thank you." Tessa took them with a smile before looking to Piccolo. "Do you think we could have a minute?" Piccolo said nothing but as he left, but he shot Melon a warning glare. "Ignore him. He's sore with me because I used some of my tricks already."

"Some? You mean there's more where that came from?"

"Can't say. We're opponents remember?" Tessa winked. "If I told you, then you'd know what to expect."

"Of course. That reminds me. I also came to tell you that Micalo won his match against Jack Manson." He sat down on the edge of the bed and placed his hand over hers.

"Thanks for the heads up."

"He's the last champion and the crowd favorite. Everyone loves an action hero," Melon warned. "You're going to find him more challenging than you think."

"He'll have a lot of disappointed fans then."

"You're very confident. Don't get carried away."

"I won't." She opened her mouth in a great yawn and quickly covered it with her hand.

"I'll leave you to rest." He placed a hand on the opposite side of her and leaned down. "Good night, Beautiful." He pressed his lips against her cheek and she could feel herself drifting into a blissful sleep. His lips lingered until she was fast asleep. "I can't thank you enough, Tess."

Piccolo stood in the hall and frowned when he sensed Tessa's energy level drop off quickly. He stepped into the room to find out what happened to see Melon tucking the sheet in around her sleeping form. She slept on her side, mouth open and snoring softly. She laid just sprawled out enough to knock everything off the bed.

Melon picked up the book and flowers and placed them on the bedside table next to her windbreaker. When he turned around and saw Piccolo, he smiled widely showing his teeth. Piccolo thought that he'd never seen a more fake smile in his life. "She must have been exhausted."

"She wasn't tired." Piccolo watched Melon suspiciously as the younger man walked up to him.

"You must have been mistaken then." Melon patted his shoulder and Piccolo brushed his hand away irritated. As Melon left, he noticed something very wrong, his energy level was much higher than when he'd come in.

_

* * *

_

Tanga was trotting behind the two boys as they left the field. A Saiyan city lay ahead of them. She skipped to and fro picking wildflowers. Her arms were filled and as she picked she kept a sharp eye on the boys. They were too busy boasting to one another to pay her any mind.

_"You can't beat me. I'm more advanced in my training than you."_

_"Training's worthless when I'm stronger than you." Tanga smiled to herself at Vegeta's boasting. She skipped along picking another flower._

_"Prove it."_

_"Fine. Hit me with your best shot and I'll deflect it with ease."_

_"Fine, it's your funeral." Raditz looked up and saw Tessa with the flowers and she froze. "And she'll send the flowers." Vegeta looked up and frowned at her but said nothing. Raditz stepped back and aimed his index finger at Vegeta's chest. A ball of energy formed on the tip of it and he fired it. Tessa stood watching while she clutched the flowers to her chest._

_Vegeta raised a hand and knocked the energy blast away from himself but it shot directly at Tanga. She stood gaping as the energy blast came directly at her and was too stunned to move. The flowers blew up in her hands creating a cloud of petals that rained back down on her. She was knocked off her feet and landed a foot back still gripping what was left of the flower stalks._

_"Look what you did, you imbecile!" Vegeta ran to her and scooped her up from where she lay among the tall grasses and put her back on her feet. He knelt in front of her and checked her from head to toe, knocking the stems from her fists, and brushing dirt from her shoulders. _

_Satisfied that she was physically okay he stood back up and looked at her in the face. A single tear rolled down her cheek from the stinging blow to her chest. "Stop your crying, Tanga." He wiped the tear away with his thumb and in the same movement swung her up onto his shoulders. "Don't worry, he didn't see you cry."_

_She giggled and playfully tugged at his hair. "Giddy up!"_

_"How about not. Now what were you doing just standing there?" He started walking again and Raditz picked up pace beside him._

_She hung her head as she replied. "Picking flowers."_

_"Humph."_

_"I won't do it again."_

_"You'd best not. Saiyans don't do flower arrangements."_

_"Yes, Veggie."_

_"Looks like even she can take your shots, Raditz." Vegeta snorted as he rejoined the other boy on their walk back towards the city gates._

_"Just shut it."_

**

* * *

**

A/N: Please Read & Review!


	5. Chapter 5: The Semi Finals

**Disclaimer: I don't own DBZ, but I do own a kitty. She just doesn't stay on my shoulder nearly as well as Scratch stays on Dr. Brief's. But she does an incredible impersonation of the kitten from the Godfather! *I's a pimp! I's a pimp!***

To my reviewers, I mean, reviewer:

OMGWDIWT? - Hmm...you could quite possibly be very right...or wrong...or both.

**Chapter 5: The Semi Finals**

Tessa awoke in the hospital feeling groggy. Her dream still dancing about the back of her mind, but it was already escaping her. Something about flowers…

"Here take this." Piccolo was standing over her and he picked up her hand, turning it palm side up before dropping into it a small bean-like pill.

"What is it?" Tessa asked rolling the bean in her hand so that she was pinching it between her thub and middle finger as she held up to her face for closer inspection.

"A senzu bean. It'll give you back your strength so that you can fight today."

"Cool." She swallowed it dry and could almost immediately feel it take effect. "I had this really weird dream," she said suddenly changing the topic as she ran a hand back through her hair. She wasn't even entirely sure why she was bringing it up.

"What about?"

"Picking flowers," she said simply and Piccolo looked disappointed but he hid his reaction so quickly that Tessa had to ask herself if she'd actually seen it to begin with.

"Feel better?"

"Better than ever! Can I leave?" Piccolo nodded and Tessa threw the covers back. She grabbed her windbreaker off the table beside the bed and never noticed that the book was missing and the flowers were in the in the trash can.

* * *

Although they were early to the arena, Tessa and Piccolo had to fight through a giant crowd. Piccolo seemed completely oblivious but Tessa took notice and was agitated. The crowd was mostly made up of women and girls. What few guys were there looked like they'd give anything to be anywhere else.

She finally made her way to the front and recognized Micalo at the front of the group signing autographs. She rolled her eyes at the way the girls were swooning for him. She couldn't tell if they liked him or his paparazzi. Some went straight for him while others turned to wave at the dozens of cameras.

"Ah…my opponent for today, Miss Reynolds."

"I prefer Tessa." He was turning his attention away from his fans and onto her. Because of that, dozens of girls were sending her evil looks that made her wonder if she was about a hundred times weaker if she should worry about getting mobbed. The look seemed to carry throughout the crowd though and she began to think that maybe she had a problem either way.

"Of course, of course. Tessa, I see you've been released from the _hospital_," he stressed the word hospital and the reporters were quick to take note.

"Yes, and too bad for you that I've got a clean bill of health. Nothing's going to hold me back." His smile never faded and he laughed at her.

"I see you've got a good sense of humor as well."

"Yes, ha ha." Her laughter was forced as she narrowed her eyes at him. She was beginning to take a great dislike for him. A sense of humor? He thought that was her trying to be funny? Far from it. "Now if you don't mind…" She went to walk away but was bomb shelled by the reporters.

They shoved their cameras, microphones, and recorders into her face. "You sound confident. Do you really believe you can defeat Micalo? Why were you hospitalized after yesterday's match? Will it affect your fight today? How do you explain your supernatural powers?"

Tessa did her best to process each question separately and respond appropriately. "Of course I can…It's not important…It will have no effect at all…and my gifts aren't supernatural at all." They all glanced at each other after her last response and pushed in again. It was as if they were of a single hive mind. It was actually the tiniest bit intimidating.

"What do you mean by that last statement, Tessa?"

"I've trained hard. It's the product of hard work." They were about to toss another round of questions at her but she threw her hands up into the air. "Speaking of training…I have more to do before the match starts. I don't have time for this right now. Goodbye!" They looked shocked and obviously thought her rude for turning her back on them and leaving them with questions still hanging on the tips of their tongues.

But Piccolo looked pleased. "I'm impressed. Most try to attract the press, not send it packing."

"I'm no suck up. I want you to help me meditate before my match." His eyes widened in shock. Meditation wasn't something she was bad at. It was something she detested because she was horrible at it. She had no patience for it at all.

"May I ask why?"

"Something's been nagging at the back of my brain. I guess if I figure out what it is, then I'll be able to concentrate. To be honest I think it's a dream, or a memory, or a premonition or something."

They walked to a quiet corner of the arena and he motioned for her to sit. She sat down on the ground cross-legged before slowly drifting into the air. She closed her eyes and rested her hands on her knees.

"You're too tense, Tessa. Relax."

"If I do relax, my mind will just wander." _Just hope it doesn't get so lost and that it won't ever come back._

"That's fine. That's what you want even. You're trying to stumble across something that you're mind normally holds back from you."

_

* * *

_

Tanga still rode on Vegeta's shoulders as they approached a nearby city. She rested her head on his while wrapping her arms around his neck. The slight bounce in his step was slowly putting her to sleep and she yawned lazily before burying her face into his hair.

_She was rudely awoken when Vegeta swung her back down, setting her at the base of a set of stairs. She gave him a sleepy pout but followed him and Raditz up the stairs. She hummed to herself as he led her up into the palace._

_As soon as Vegeta stepped through the door, a man ran up to Vegeta from within. "Prince Vegeta, you're presence is required in the throne room!"_

_"What is it Nappa?" Vegeta looked irritated with the interruption. He obviously had other plans for himself in mind._

_Nappa looked frantic and his panic quickly spread to Raditz. "It's Lord Frieza! His men came in and began attacking…"_

_Vegeta held up his hand to silence him and started walking away. Tanga stood confused watching him leave and could feel the infectious panic creeping in. Vegeta stopped, looking back and motioned for her to come with him._

_"Vegeta is that such a good idea?" Nappa ventured._

_"Are you questioning me?" Nappa shook his head no but Tanga couldn't help but look up at him questioningly as she caught up to him. He put a hand on her shoulder reassuringly. He kept it there as he led her down the hall._

_"I'm scared."_

_"How can you be scared?"_

_"It's too quiet." She was too young to know the quiet before a storm but she could sense that something was going to happen. She walked in closer to him, afraid that if she were to be separated from him that she wouldn't make it to their destination._

_"Saiyans don't get scared. You can't ever show anyone fear. It's a weakness, and I know you're not weak." She nodded but his words didn't really help._

_They walked around a corner to find dead warriors and guards littering the floor. Tanga squealed and quickly hugged Vegeta burying her face into his chest. "I don't care, Veggie. I'm scared."_

_"You're shocked. There's a difference, learn it." He wore a face of stone that showed no grief or any other emotion as he peeled her off and led her past the corpses. She whimpered and he stopped again. "Listen, Tanga, whatever happens, you've got to stay strong. You can't let anyone see you crack under pressure. So chin up," he growled. She crossed her arms over her chest and did her best to imitate his expressionless face. "That's it. Now come on."_

_He pushed through a set of doors and Tanga slipped in behind him. She stared around the room that had been transformed from the great hall that was used by King Vegeta to deal with all matters into a room filled with death and decay. Its bright windows were shadowed leaving the room in dim gray light. It was filled with strangers now instead of the familiar Saiyan guards and warriors and the strangest of all sat on the throne displacing King Vegeta. "What is this?" Vegeta asked as he stood in the middle of the room._

_"Glad you could make it, Prince Vegeta." Tanga stood hiding behind Vegeta gripping the back of his armor. She peered around him to get a better look at the source of the voice. She saw King Vegeta standing nearby being held by one of the new men._

_She looked back at the throne and frowned. "That's not yours," she said in her toughest voice. The man sitting on the throne struck her as ugly even though purple and white were her favorite colors. He had a sick twisted smile that made Tanga want to hide behind Vegeta's back again._

_He laughed and craned his neck to get a better look at her as she pulled back behind Vegeta. "It is now, girl. I'm your lord and master, Lord Frieza."_

_"I don't think so. Not while my father's still alive." Vegeta looked very brave to her standing up to this stranger. She'd lost her nerve after he'd laughed at her._

_"That can be fixed." Like Raditz had done before, a ball of glowing energy formed on his fingertip. He turned and fired it at the king, narrowly missing as it cut across the king's cheek, a thin line of blood forming. Tanga screamed and Vegeta pulled her out from behind him, instantly covering her mouth and turning her away from Frieza. She could read the warning in his eyes as he stared her down. She could also see the pain flare up and die again just as quickly. She clamped her mouth shut again and bit her tongue forcing herself not to scream again as she turned back around._

_"Did I scare you?" Frieza was directing his attention on her once again. _

_"No, I was just shocked." She crossed her arms again and tried her best to look brave like Vegeta. She craned her head back slightly to see his reaction and could've sworn he looked proud of her for a moment._

_Frieza got up and moved towards the two of them. Vegeta stood behind her, hands clamped down on her shoulders keeping her still so that she wouldn't run. She didn't have plans on running though at this point. She wanted to be tough just like he was. "I don't frighten you?"_

_"No." She stomped her foot making a small echo in the suddenly very quiet room. It was as if everyone was watching this exchange of wits between the giant power and small child._

_"I could kill you in an instant, you brat." A ball of energy was forming on the tip of Frieza's finger again._

_"You don't scare me." She turned and stuck her nose in the air._

_Frieza looked furious and was about to lower his finger to aim at the back of her head when Vegeta stepped in between. "Ignore her. She's as stubborn as they come. You'll never scare her into cooperation, nor will you scare me."_

_"But young prince, I already have." Tanga looked back over her shoulder to see what Frieza meant. When she saw Vegeta's face she realized that he'd lied to her earlier. Saiyans did get scared, because right now he was scared that he might lose her._

* * *

Tessa's eyes snapped open and she realized she was gasping for air from holding her breath. Piccolo leaned over at her, concern on his face and a hand hesitantly outstretched. "What happened?"

"I think I know why I blocked all of my memories. I saw Frieza threaten King Vegeta. I was there front row and center for the downfall of the Saiyan race." Piccolo said nothing as she lowered herself back down to the ground. She slowly pushed herself up to her feet feeling strange from her meditation. She grabbed Piccolo's hand and in her distracted state allowed him to steady her. "His son, Prince Vegeta, saved me. We must have been childhood friends or something like that because I was with him when it happened and he protected me. I couldn't have even been four yet."

"The second match will now begin!" The voice boomed from loudspeakers dotting the arena and Tessa stared at the nearest one in shock.

"What?!? I missed the first match!" Tessa didn't waste any time as she ran off while Piccolo walked back to the stands.

"Over here, Piccolo!" Piccolo recognized Trish sitting in the front row. She was waving her hands madly trying to get his attention. He moved in beside her and sat down. "Where have you been? You missed Melon's win. And if you thought yesterday was impressive, today he was out of this world."

"I'm sure he was." Piccolo narrowed his eyes as he watched Micalo take the center of the platform. Micalo held his hands above his head waving to his adoring fans. Girls waved signs proclaiming their undying love for him while male companions or nearby spectators grimaced at the blocked views.

"Yeah, he fought the entire match without touching the platform! He was so strong too. Titanus didn't stand a snowball's chance in hell. Melon's finishing move was some kind of firework. But he fired it from the end of his finger."

"A special beam cannon."

"A what?"

"One of my techniques." Piccolo realized that this tournament had just become extremely dangerous for Tessa.

* * *

Micalo was already out there waiting when Tessa sprinted through the archway. "And here, I thought that you lost your confidence."

"You wish, Micalo. I'm no quitter and I'm not going anywhere except straight to the top.

"You're quite the ambitious one, aren't you?"

"The match will now begin!"

Tessa didn't bother to respond as she sent a flying kick at Micalo. He neatly dodged it by tumbling away. "Gee, I was thinking a stunt double would've stepped in by now."

"That's where you're wrong, Tessa. I do all of my own stunts."

"I'm real happy for you. Just hope this match doesn't kill your reputation."

She disappeared from his view but he felt her attacks come from every direction. They were so fast that they felt like a single blow that covered his entire body. The attacks ceased and she reappeared in front of him. As he watched, she multiplied a dozen times over forming a circle around him—her personal spin on the zanzoken.

He spun around looking at her multiples. "What is this?"

"Attack us if you can," they chorused. Micalo frowned but jumped kicking at the head of the first Tessa. His foot went straight through her head and she dissolved. Micalo figured out the trick and began to attack each of the clones quickly causing each one to disappear.

As Micalo attacked one of the remaining copies, she raised her hand and caught his fist. A look of shock crossed his face before she grabbed his arm then and threw him into the air.

She jumped up into the air next to him. "I got this feeling your next movie's gonna be a bust. Call it a woman's intuition." He did his best to kick and punch at her while still soaring up into the air. She blocked him with one hand while using her other to cover her yawn. "See you in Hollywood, Micky Baby." She kicked him hard in the chest and he fell back down. She hovered watching him fall into the grass.

The crowd stared at their fallen hero before looking back up at Tessa. They broke into cheering as she touched back down on the platform. "Tesselation will advance to the final match!" If anything the crowd only got louder with this confirmation of Micalo's defeat.

Trish jumped the wall and sprinted up to Tessa. "You did it! You were so awesome.' Tessa smiled at her friend as she sat down on the edge of the platform.

"Thanks, but who won the first match?"

"Melon." Tessa's face fell at the news.

"I don't want to fight him."

Piccolo was walking towards them and he looked grim. "Tessa you want a lot of things. You need to decide what's most important to you and your goals."

"Training with King Kai." She slid off the edge of the platform and stood in the grass feeling determined to follow her heart. Now that she had some insight to her past, she didn't want to quit now. If anything, she believed that King Kai or maybe if she could meet the Supreme Kai would be able to tell her more—maybe even who her family was. Piccolo watched as her expression hardened and her brows furrowed with the contemplation. "Excuse me," she said softly before walking away through the archway on the other side of the platform. She was nearly as distracted now as she had been right after her meditation.

She saw Micalo being checked out by his personal trainer and already his shoulder was being iced down. For the first time, the reporters were no longer interested in him and his action movies. They had swarmed to Melon, the new tournament favorite since Micalo's defeat.

"Melon! We need to talk." Melon turned from the reporters and smiled when he saw it was her.

"I was just about to come look for you."

"Uh huh…I can see that. Can we talk…alone?" She eyed all the reporters suspiciously as they had been leaning in to catch snippets of their conversation on tape.

"Of course; this way." He put his arm around her shoulders and led her away from the people. "Now what did you want to say?"

"Just that no matter what happens tomorrow, I'll most likely never see you again. If I win, I'm going to train with King Kai. If I lose, which I'm not planning on doing, I'll be going back to train with Piccolo."

"Oh." He was looking down at the ground and she couldn't read his reaction.

"I had fun, don't get me wrong. But tomorrow, we'll be opponents. I don't plan on taking it easy on you."

He looked up at her his eyes twinkling. "I wouldn't have it any other way. You're a fighter and I like you for that." She blushed and was about to turn away when Melon caught her chin in his hand turning her back. He kissed her on the lips forcefully, pressing with the hardness of his teeth against her tightly pressed lips, and Tessa's eyes snapped wide in shock. She was so stunned by the fact that he'd done something like that, that she felt lightheaded. She opened her eyes to see Piccolo watching before she blacked out, going weak in the knees.

* * *

Piccolo knew he shouldn't have let her walk away like that. Not when he suspected Melon as the root of Tessa's troubles. Who else would she want to see before tomorrow? She was much too young and naïve to realize this boy wasn't in love with her but was using her like a battery.

He realized that he was much too late when he saw Melon kissing her, Tessa already slumping over in his hands. Melon put her down gently, not seeming to care that he'd completely drained her, and smiled as he knelt down to gaze at her. He swept loose strands of hair back from her face, taking whatever was left as he brushed his hand down over her cheek. "I meant it when I said I liked you. It's a shame it's ended this way."

He stood up and turned to see Piccolo. "What have you done to her?" Piccolo growled.

"You wouldn't understand, old timer," he said and flew away before Piccolo could protest. Piccolo would normally have given chase but right now he was more concerned with Tessa.

"Hey, what's the big idea leaving me all alone…Tessa! Oh my God! What's wrong with her?" Trish raced over as fast as her legs could carry her as Piccolo easily scooped her friend up into his arms.

"Melon," was the response she got back from the alien and Trish pushed Piccolo's hands out of her way as she shoved her own in to feel for a pulse on her friend's neck. She looked frantic as she had difficulty finding one.

"She's so faint," she whispered gazing down at Tessa's ashen complexion. Piccolo grunted as he stepped back from Trish's reach and then flew back to the hospital. Trish stood gaping at the sky watching as their figures became smaller on the horizon and suddenly what little Piccolo had said struck her like a bowling ball on the head. "And what do you mean Melon happened?!?!" Of course, she got no response from him but she certainly didn't waste any time as she turned and ran back to the hospital.

* * *

"I'm sorry miss, but I can't let you in. She's in ICU, so unless you're family…" the nurse calmly replied as she continued to sort through the medical charts and forms that she would need for her rounds.

"She doesn't have family!" Trish wailed in desperation.

"Then no one will be able to see her."

"The girl doesn't have anybody! You gotta let me in to see her and make sure she's okay."

"I'm sorry." The nurse looked up this time and actually did have a sympathetic expression as she frowned. Policies are policies and she couldn't change them no matter how sad it was that a girl was admitted to the hospital without anyone to care.

"Don't be sorry, do something!" The nurse shook her head and Trish accepted defeat as she took a seat in the waiting room. _I hope Piccolo has better luck._

* * *

Piccolo didn't leave anything to luck. He took Tessa to the hospital and then waited to find out which room she had been taken to and left her there alone. He knew that for quite a long while the doctors would be examining her trying to find the mysterious source of her condition. Of course they'd never find it because it was inflicted by something that couldn't be explained medically. Nor would they believe him if he told them that someone had sucked the energy right out of her. Besides, there would be nothing they could do except to stabilize her and make sure she didn't dehydrate or anything else.

He waited until late that night before returning to the hospital and even then he didn't waste his time with a receptionist. He took one cursory glance at Trish sleeping in a waiting room chair before going into the maze of corridors.

The receptionist stood to stop him but when she got a good look at his face she sat back down again. "I need a vacation. All these night shifts are getting to me." She rubbed her temples as if to erase a bad dream from her mind.

Piccolo walked straight into the ICU and on to Tessa's room and went inside to find her still unconscious. Her face had a sick gray pallor from her dangerous energy level. Her heart rate and blood pressure were still weak and the machine's beeping was slow and soft. He looked down at the senzu bean lying in his hand. He could only hope that it alone would be enough to bring her back from the brink of death. But if she was anything like the other Saiyans—_like her brother, _he thought—Melon had made a fatal mistake by taking this much without finishing her. The other Saiyans only became stronger with each close to death experience.

He hated to see her like this. He gently forced her mouth open, dropping the senzu bean onto her tongue. She swallowed it unconsciously and as Piccolo watched the gray slowly became a healthy pink again. She rolled over, stretched and curled up into the fetal position in her sleep before yawning, all without waking up.

By morning she would be okay again. Come morning, Melon would learn his mistake in messing with a Saiyan and Tessa would most likely be more than glad to teach him the pains of fighting with someone out of your class. And Piccolo had no doubt in his mind that Tessa would easily outclass Melon.

_

* * *

_

Vegeta shut the doors behind them and refused to look down at the younger girl. He growled under his breath but said nothing intelligible. Tanga walked along beside him in silence for a while but it didn't last long before her own pride caught up with her.

_"You lied to me, Veggie." She walked beside him pouting. She couldn't understand why he'd interfered earlier. She'd only been doing what he'd told her to do. She hadn't shown any fear._

_"I did no such thing." He scowled down at her. He was still upset about how naïve she had acted a few short minutes ago and now she had the gall to call him a liar._

_"You said Saiyans never get scared. You were scared back there." She gave him an 'I told you so' look but her grin quickly faded when she saw his face. She couldn't remember ever being this confused before._

_He was frowning, his brows creased with thought. "That's different, Tanga."_

_"How?" She was still feeling argumentative because she sensed that maybe she could win for once._

_"When you're scared it's for yourself. I was scared for you because Frieza's not going to take that type of treatment from a little girl." He looked down at her and she realized that he was only being protective of her. He didn't want something to happen to her. But she was still puzzled about Frieza._

_"Well, who does he think he is anyway? Why should he hurt Saiyans? We never did anything to him. I never even heard of him until today." She cocked her head to the side and her confused expression looked a lot like a lost puppy dog._

_"He thinks he's in charge because he's stronger than father. And he hurts us because he fears us. That's how people deal with their fears, they just destroy the source."_

_"But why should he fear us?"_

_"Because someday, there's going to be a Super Saiyan."_

_"I may be little, but I'm not stupid, Veggie." She crossed her arms over her small chest and did her best to look tall._

_"You better believe it, Tanga. Someday, there'll be a Super Saiyan who'll be able to defeat everyone, even Frieza."_

_"I bet you'll be one," she said. "Someday," she added as an afterthought. She smiled up at him looking for his approval. He seemed to like it when she fed his ego._

_"Of course. I'm destined for it." He looked very smug as he ruffled her already wild red hair. "And you can't argue with destiny." She giggled at his attention._

_"What am I destined for?" she asked innocently._

_"Great things, Tanga. Great things." She smiled as she momentarily forgot the horror she'd just seen. She hugged him before he could protest and Vegeta patted her back apprehensively._

**

* * *

**

A/N: Please Read & Review!


	6. Chapter 6: The Finals

**Disclaimer: I don't know karate. But I do know crazy!**

Reviews:

OMGWDIWT?: Pfft...I fear the nicely paced part will soon go out the window. As far as Creepy McCreeperson...I hope you find this chappie satisfactory.

**Chapter 6: The Final Match**

Tessa awoke in the hospital bed again and groaned. _Not again._ She rolled over and saw Piccolo standing nearby watching over her sleep. "What happened?"

"What do you remember?"

"I won the match against Micalo and then…Melon!" She sat up in bed suddenly looking furious. Her brows furrowed and her lips drew a thin line across her face as she clenched her fists. "That good for nothing son of a…" Tessa temporarily forgot about her dream. She had other things on her mind.

"Now's not the time. Hold on to that thought for the match," Piccolo said glad that his tutee was finally getting serious about the tournament. It had only taken two trips to the hospital for her to realize that her 'friend' wasn't so good for her.

"I'm gonna kill him!" She threw the covers back and was on her feet in a flash. She found her gi lying folded at the end of the bed and quickly began to change.

A nurse appeared in the doorway and rushed in to stop her patient who was busy kicking the toe of her boot into the linoleum to straighten the shoe out on her foot. "No! You must rest. Please lie back down." She pushed on Tessa's shoulders but the girl wouldn't budge an inch no matter how hard she tried.

"I'm fine. Now if you don't mind I'm going to rid the earth of a certain slime ball." She clenched her fist and it glowed golden for a moment. She then stormed from the room, destination known—the arena.

The nurse turned and saw Piccolo and put her hands on her hips menacingly. "You…you talked her into this! Last night you bring her in on her deathbed and now…" The nurse was moving steadily towards Piccolo getting into his face.

Piccolo placed a hand on the nurse's shoulder bringing her to a stop. "She's fine. You won't find any tougher than her," he said reassuringly. Piccolo then left the room to follow his pupil. The nurse stood staring at the empty room and sighed as she sat down on the bed. "Why me?"

* * *

"We'll give her five more minutes. Please be patient!" The announcer seemed desperate to bring calm back to the crowd. Everyone in the arena was antsy, waiting for the final match to start. None of them wanted it to be won by default. They had all paid good money to see this match and now they might not be getting their money's worth. Trish sat on the edge of her seat impatiently awaiting the arrival of Tessa. She now only had five more minutes to get out of the hospital and back to the arena prepared to fight or Melon would win by default.

She hadn't seen hide nor hair of either Piccolo or Tessa since she left the hospital. This morning when she'd awoken, they still wouldn't allow her in to visit Tessa because she was still in ICU. Trish found that hard to believe and blamed the doctors for not checking on her recently. There was no way that Tessa would still be in intensive care, not with being as strong as she was.

She scowled at Melon. He looked so smug out there. She could tell that he was planning on Tessa not being able to show. "Melon, you're a lying cheat! You hear?!?"

A few people around her stared at her as if she was crazy and she couldn't blame them either. Out of nowhere, a teenage girl was trash talking the new tournament favorite and for no apparent reason. No one knew what Melon had done to Tessa and even if she told them, they'd never believe her in a million years.

Melon must have heard as well because he turned around slowly to see who had shouted. When he saw her, his brows narrowed and his expression tightened. Trish returned his gaze with a steely glare. She thought she was going to be sick watching him basking in the glory.

Suddenly something caught Trish's eye and she looked up to see a flash of purple and green. _Tessa!_ "And now you've got hell to pay mister!" Trish shouted gleefully as she began to hop up and down in her seat.

Melon looked up as well and his face fell slack with his surprise. "If you live through this, you're luckier than you look," Tessa said as she landed on the platform and the crowd erupted with applause and their roar was deafening as they waited for the match to begin. "Did you really think that you'd get away with using me like that?" Tessa looked furious and anyone who knew why couldn't blame her.

"I think I already did."

"We'll see about that." She got into her defensive stance and frowned when she saw Melon mimic her stance.

"Anything you can do, I can do better, Tess." He was smirking at her and all she wanted to do was wipe that dopey look right off of his face. She growled under her breath at his remark as she jumped into action. She threw several punches but he blocked all of them with equal speed and dexterity and tried to land a few blows himself. She was able to block them as well, but she was stumped. It was as if she was fighting against herself. _How do you beat yourself?_ she thought. "Let's cut to the chase, Tess." She nodded as she pushed her energy up higher allowing her to lift up and off the platform. Melon did the same, clenching his fists, and looking for a fight. He was muttering something under his breath but she couldn't understand what he was saying. She watched him closely waiting for a sign of what he was up to.

He opened his fists to reveal two balls of glowing energy and he brought them together at his side. When he looked up at her he was smirking again. Tessa's eyes were wide with shock at seeing her favorite energy attack being turned against her. He released it with a great "HA!" and Tessa saw that she had no choice but to take the hit if she was to protect the crowd from being obliterated. She caught the blast in her hands but its force pushed her through the air so that she was now over the people. The wind had been knocked out of her and she forced her hands together breaking the blast apart with a great show of sparks.

"You could kill someone with that." She moved back over the platform feeling indignant. Not only was he trying to kill her, he didn't seem to care that he could hurt an innocent spectator as well.

"That was kind of the point." She clenched her fists as she lunged herself at him again. She was going to make sure that this ended before someone got seriously hurt with the exception of him of course. "You said so yourself, only one of us can win. And you sounded pretty determined yourself. Why should I not fight to my full potential, either?"

People watched on amazed at what was now becoming a light show. They couldn't hear the conversation above them and probably would not have been disappointed in the clash of wits that was taking place. "Because, this isn't your full potential. You stole that energy—from me! And now, I'm going to take it back."

"Oh, I'm scared now. Look at me quaking in my boots."

"You will be when I'm done with you." He caught her next punch and twisted her arms back around so that her back was pressed up against him. He wrapped his arm around her neck slowly closing the airways. "Hell hath no fury like a woman's wrath..." she breathed hoarsely.

"Don't flatter yourself. You're nothing more than a mere girl." She gritted her teeth and gave him a swift kick to the groin. He released her and doubled over at the excruciating pain. She flew back several feet pushing her energy up even higher to make up for what he'd managed to drain.

"A little help, Piccolo." She glanced down at her friends and saw that he understood the message. He stood up while Trish sat on the edge of her seat. She seemed caught up in the action and paid no attention to what Piccolo was doing. It didn't matter, she'd see in a short while. She was now slightly higher than Melon and began to fire a continuous stream of blasts. The scatter shot wasn't the most effective technique but it was one she wanted to try for herself. However, it was enough to keep Melon busy as he dodged them. Several connected, knocking him around in the air like a pinball. He flipped and spun with each blast that connected.

Down below, Piccolo was busy himself by protecting the audience with a barrier made of his own energy. He could tell that Tessa had the upper hand in practice and strength, but she had a weakness in strategizing. She normally wasn't able to think much further than her current situation.

She stopped the attack; breathing heavily from the adrenaline rush she was now experiencing and she waited as the smoke cleared to reveal Melon, energy glowing at his fingertips. "Such a shame that it should end this way. We could've been good together."

"Well, it's not about to end because I want this to be slow and painful for you. And there's nothing between us; you shot all chances of that to hell and back." He narrowed his eyes as he shot at her. Tessa gulped as she recognized her teacher's special beam cannon. The first shot was aimed straight at her while the second spiraled around the first preparing to drill straight through her.

She didn't have much time to think as she brought her hands together in front of her chest and formed a ball of concentrated purple energy quickly and fired it at Melon's shot. She pushed it with her palms forward and the energy beam eventually overpowered Melon's attack. He moved out of the way at the last second when her shot whizzed past and out of the stadium. It tore through the forest that was nearby uprooting trees as it went.

She'd learned the Galick Gun in theory only and until today she hadn't even attempted it. "No way. You don't know that attack."

"What would you know? What I'd like to know is how you even stole some of my attacks…and Piccolo's for that matter."

"All with a little touch." He waved his index finger in front of her. "And with every punch I land, you'll start to weaken again."

Tessa gritted her teeth and thought absentmindedly that by the end of this match he would have annoyed her into grinding her teeth to dust. She clenched her fists as she spoke, "Then I'm not going to let you go near me." She flexed every muscle in her body forcing her energy to rise to the surface. Her hair crackled with static electricity and a brilliant green aura formed around her body. Suddenly, several bolts of green lightening were attacking Melon.

* * *

As Piccolo watched, he had to admit that he was impressed. He'd only explained the lightening flash surprise attack to her. Same with the other two attacks she'd used so far. He'd never expected her to be able to use such advanced attacks during this tournament.

It seemed that Melon could not only absorb energy from a person but also the knowledge of attacks that they've used recently. However, he was limited to stealing attacks that they'd actually performed—not just known about in theory. He hated to admit it, but Tessa's procrastination had turned out to serve as a benefit to her.

* * *

Tessa ended the attack and waited patiently to see what effect, if any, it had on her opponent. If she'd done it correctly it was supposed to keep him bound and in a lot of pain too. The air cleared and Melon lowered himself down to the platform going to his hands and knees. Thinking he was defeated she lowered herself as well but she was wrong. Very wrong.

He was still on his knees when her toes hit the platform and she stood in front of him, her hands planted on her hips. She could see his chest heaving as his heart rate and breathing were accelerated. "Had enough yet?"

"No. I'm just getting started." With a great shout, he slammed his fists down on the platform causing it to split and break apart. The crowd fell into a hush as they watched a large crack rip straight through the platform and between Tessa's legs. As it cracked, large pieces of tile and rock broke off and flew into the air sending Tessa off balance. She fell onto her back and scrambled to push herself back up so that she was leaning back on her hands.

She could see nothing for all the wreckage that was heaving itself into the air and the thick cloud of dust that was rising around her. A second shock wave ripped through the stone platform causing the crack to widen and threatened to swallow her as she tried to straddle it. She rolled to the side to avoid falling through and had to tumble backwards then to avoid having a large piece of rock land on her chest. As she tumbled, she rolled into a back hand spring so that she landed on her feet as the platform finally stopped shaking.

Her gaze fell on the gaping crack that she had almost fallen through moments ago and her gaze followed it across the expanse of the platform to the feet of her opponent. Her eyes drifted upwards as she observed the changes Melon had undergone in some kind of a transformation. He was taller now, nearing the height of Piccolo, and was thicker, his muscles bulging, the veins strained and stretched beneath the skin with increased power and strength. He was a sick ash gray color, his hair longer and unkempt, and his ears were now pointed. _A demon. I really know how to pick them, _she thought sarcastically.

"I guess Piccolo was right. Appearances really aren't everything." Tessa stared at the ashen Melon as she forced the sick feeling back down her throat. She couldn't help but think of how ironic that just a few days ago, Piccolo had tried to warn her that she couldn't judge a fighter simply on how they looked. Of course, she'd been too naïve to believe him and now she was finding out the hard way that he had been completely right. Not just about fighting, but about people in general.

"You're really not one to talk." Tessa narrowed her eyes before jumping at him. _Only one way to find out if this is just what he really looks like, or a power boost. Dive in head first. _He was slightly slower because of his increased bulk, but he was still able to block all of her punches and kicks. He abruptly grabbed the front of her uniform and tossed her away easily. She skidded across the platform on her back over the loose stones and gravel finally coming to a stop with her upper body hanging off the edge.

Before she could get back up, Melon was on top of her with a foot on her stomach and the other planted on her neck. She groaned under his weight as he tried to force her head down to touch the grass. The more she struggled to get out from under him, the harder it became for her to breathe. She arched her back trying to upset his balance and then realized how stupid she was being. Her hands were free and she immediately grabbed his ankle lifting it up off her neck. His lips curled back in a growling sneer as he put more of his weight on that leg. She put all of her strength into one final push and managed to finally push him off balance. He stumbled back, stepping off her stomach as well.

She was up in a flash before he could get a second opportunity and she took to the air. He immediately followed her giving her no opportunity to properly defend herself against his attack. His fist connected with her jaw and along with the searing pain there was a sense of the wind being knocked out of her as some of her energy was transferred from her body to his. She knew that she couldn't afford too much more of that before it took a major toll on her mind and body.

She didn't have long to think about it before she was hit with an energy blast at close range. She hadn't even seen it coming. It sent her flying into the platform face first. She was so out of it that she never had a chance to try and stop herself from falling. All she could hear was the absolute silence broken by Melon's laughter as she collided with the platform with a sickening crunch.

* * *

Trish watched the match with mixed emotions. She was shocked by the speed and brutality of the match just like everyone else who was watching. The only one who seemed unfazed was Piccolo. Yet in the back of her mind, she had known to expect something of this nature. Tessa was no usual girl and was a skilled fighter to state the obvious. Although she knew little to nothing of the girl's past, Trish wouldn't doubt if it was just as out of this world as the green man beside her.

Everything had changed so quickly that Trish couldn't even recall how long the match had been going on at all. Now some gray demon-like creature had replaced the once handsome Melon. She was disgusted by the thought that she had once thought this creature was the perfect match for her newfound friend. He seemed so bent on winning that he was willing to kill Tessa in the process and put everyone else in the arena in harm's way to accomplish his goal.

She watched dismayed as Tessa fell like a downed bird into the platform. She landed in a messy heap creating an indentation in the already destroyed platform. The entire crowd flinched as if they'd all felt the same drop from fifty feet in the air at that velocity.

Trish was now standing on her feet shouting for Tessa to get back up. Just to stand up and make the announcer stop counting. She could only hope for a miracle that would allow Tessa to pull a win out of this dreary situation that she was now faced with.

* * *

"One…Two…Three…" Tessa became vaguely aware of the announcer's voice counting with each number he shouted into his microphone. She groaned as she pushed herself back up. There was no way that she was going to let Melon win that easily. She'd rather die trying to win herself than let someone like him win by cheating. "Fo--oh…The match will continue!"

Melon frowned at her as she stood back up straight again. She brushed the dust off herself and felt as if every bone in her body should be broken and crushed but she knew better. _I can't quit now, _she thought, _I've come too far for that. And sometimes, you've just got to brush your shoulders off and keep going._

He waited patiently to see what her next move would be. He could almost see the wheels turning in her mind with each careful movement she made to brush herself off. Tessa could tell that Melon was giving her all the time she wanted. She didn't know why, but he was. She could also tell that they both had the same thing in mind--the best possible match with each fighting at their max. She decided to give him exactly what he wanted. Besides, this might be the last time that she could go down like that and still manage to get back up in time, if at all.

Closing her eyes, she clenched her fists and tightened every muscle in her body until a brilliant green aura appeared with a flash and spark around her body. It quickly began to lose its green shading as it faded to white. It danced around her like flames, picking rocks and rubble into the air. With a shout, her feet dug into the platform making the indentation even deeper and the rubble no longer hovered but flew into the air like missiles.

She reopened her eyes to find her vision blurred by her hair hanging in her face. She blew upward on the red strands with a smile as the hair moved back into place. Her vision was like looking through a pair of dark shades as she looked through a blood red aura. Like a snap, the dream she'd had the night before came back to her. It seemed like so long ago, another lifetime almost and in truth it almost was. _A Super Saiyan. That must be what I've become. I did it._ "Well Melon, let's see if you have what it takes to face a Super Saiyan." She moved into the air to come back up to his level. He was literally shaking as he watched her. Flight suddenly seemed so easy; something accomplished without thought, like breathing. "Gee, look at that. I got you quaking in your boots."

Wanting to test her newfound strength she attacked him viciously without warning. There was no contest between the two of them now, Tessa was obviously the superior in speed and strength. Although she'd grown stronger, she hadn't changed in size and her lean frame made her quick.

Tessa grabbed Melon where his shoulder met his neck squeezing down on the pressure point until his face scrunched up in pain. "This is how it ends." She held her hand up to his chest, a ball of golden energy growing and ready.

"Do you really have what it takes to kill someone?" She stopped short of blasting him at such close range obviously thinking over what he'd just said. Her brow creased with thought as he continued talking. "You're too young to have that hanging over your head forever."

"Since when did you care?" Tessa tightened her grip on him and held her hand closer to his chest. He flinched noticeably and Tessa could feel herself smirking. The tide had turned in her favor.

* * *

Trish had never sat down again. How could she? Tessa had managed to pull off a miraculous comeback. She'd gone through some kind of dramatic change and she'd heard Piccolo muttering something about a transformation beside her. Although she couldn't help but think that that was a total duh, she just wanted to know how Tessa was taking all that heat. It looked as if she was burning up and those eyes…Tessa's eyes were now completely white. There were no pupils anymore, just eerie glowing whites.

But in all honesty, Trish was a nervous wreck. She gripped the wall in front of her with both hands. She couldn't hear what they were saying above her but they'd both stopped fighting. They were motionless up there, seventy-five feet in the air. It looked as if Tessa was the one in control of the situation and she had a firm grip on Melon's shoulder. But Trish was worried that Tessa had gone off the deep end with a few too many knocks to the head. She looked murderous up there with one hand holding a golden ball of energy. The flaming aura was still surrounded her and did nothing to dispel the dangerous look.

* * *

"I think I can handle the thought of wiping a slime ball off Earth." Melon stared at her unblinking. She couldn't decide if he'd accepted the fact that she was going to kill him or if he knew something that she didn't. She wasn't going to waste any more time with small talk. She shot him straight through the chest and dropped him.

She felt no emotion whatsoever as she watched him fall into a crumpled heap below her. That's what scared her most though; there was no remorse, fear of the consequences, nothing. She was empty.

A hush fell over the crowd as they all stared at the still body lying in the midst of the heaping rubble that had once been a magnificent fighting platform. There hadn't been a match that had ended like this in years and people were unsure of how to react to such a violent end.

The announcer himself was caught off guard and forgot to begin the countdown until Tessa landed a few feet away from Melon's unmoving form. "Uh right then…One…Two…Three…" Tessa stared at Melon's back just daring him to get back up when she got a strange sense—woman's intuition—that she wasn't out of the water yet. "Seven…Eight…" The announcer stopped his counting as he stared along with everyone else including Tessa. Melon was stirring and getting back on his feet. There was a hole in his shirt that had been burned away by Tessa's blast, but his chest looked unharmed.

"I knew your heart was too small of a target," Tessa spat out. Melon was devoid of expression as he fingered the hole in silence then stared at her blankly. He still couldn't figure out where she had gotten so much power from. But that would have to wait if he was to be able to beat her now. No matter how hard he looked, he could find no weakness to her. She was practically the perfect fighter. "Enough games, Melon. Attack me or step out." Her eyes were a mysterious white that shimmered and sparkled in the noon sun. Despite the bright color, they still glinted darkly to show just how serious she was. "Let's raise the stakes then. If I win, you go back to Other World and never come back to Earth."

"And if I win?" he implored.

"Same fate." He considered it and nodded. It seemed to him that it would be a fitting end for the she-devil to be banished to Other World. She could meet some other witches that way. Little did he know that Tessa was simply setting up a win-win situation for herself. Now, no matter how this battle ended, she would be going to Other World and then on to train with King Kai. That is if she hadn't misunderstood what Piccolo had told her.

Melon began attacking her and she went on defense slowly backing up towards the edge of the platform. A smirk was quickly growing on his face as he saw this as him winning. Once she reached the edge she stepped aside quickly as he threw a punch at her. When he missed and went off balance, she jammed her elbow into the center of his back, knocking him to the grass below. He stumbled and fell pitifully, face-planting into the green blades. There was a pause of stunned silence before the crowd erupted with applause.

It was over but still Tessa felt on edge and as if she had just gotten started. It didn't matter that she'd spent nearly an entire week fighting nearly a dozen different people. She looked down at her hands to see the red aura still dancing around her like flames. It was just as strong in presence as when she'd first transformed. _Energy to spare,_ she thought, _and more._ She ran a hand through her red hair as Melon got back to his feet. "You won."

"Don't sound so surprised. Now about our deal…" she said as she narrowed her eyes at him distrustfully.

"I _know_; you don't need to rub it in." She watched him walk away and thought that she would never see him again. Once again, she didn't know just how wrong she was.

Tessa felt someone jump onto her back and throw their arms around her neck. She peered back over her shoulder and smiled when she saw Trish. Trish gave her a big bear hug before waving a hand over both of their heads. "You did it! It was so awesome. I had my doubts…but you did it!"

"Tessa…" Tessa looked away from her friend to the announcer. He stood at the edge of the platform holding the check for the prize money and Tessa hooked her arms under her friend's knees to carry her piggy back. "I believe this is yours." He waved the check in front of her and Tessa could hear her friend gasp at all the zeros.

Tessa shook her head. "Trish needs it more than me."

Trish's eyes sparkled as she took the check for a million Zeni. "I can't. Not after all you went through."

"Use it to help your brother. Besides, what am I going to do with all of it?" _When I plan on leaving as soon as possible for destinations unknown, _she thought but didn't say.

Trish gave Tessa another tight hug before slipping down off her back. "Thank you so much." Tears welled at the corners of her eyes as she quickly wiped them away before they could spill over. "You have no idea what this means to me. My brother is everything."

_You're right. I don't have a clue, _she thought sadly, _I only wish I did know what it was like to have family._ But Tessa said nothing, only gave her friend another hug.

Trish could no longer hide the tears as they streamed down her cheeks leaving telltale trails. "I'll never forget you. You're such an awesome friend." She wiped her cheek once more giving Tessa a happy smile before hurrying away. All the better for Tessa, she hated good-byes. Tessa blinked to force her own tears back.

"I'm impressed."

"Those are two words I thought I'd never hear you say." Tessa turned to see her teacher behind her.

There was a slight smile on his face as he placed a hand on her shoulder and she powered back down. She shook her head so that she could see the red strands of hair flick past her eyes before obediently falling back into place.

"Vegeta told me about Super Saiyans. I was too little to really believe him though." She took no notice of his expression at the mention of the Saiyan name. She was on an emotional high and nothing could bring her down from it.

"Yes, they're real, but you're not quite there yet."

Tessa frowned looking around at the emptying arena and then smiled to herself. "I guess I'm off to see King Kai. Maybe with his training I'll be able to become one."

"Yes about that…"

* * *

Tessa stood staring at Piccolo. Her mouth hung open and she had no reason or urge to shut it again. Talk about dropping the bomb on someone. Piccolo had definitely failed to mention all of this to her before she'd made the decision that she wanted to train under King Kai. "I HAVE TO DIE!?!"

Piccolo nodded his head silently. She felt like trying to go through the transformation again just to see if she could kill him. She was infuriated that he'd held something like that back. He seemed to find nothing wrong with the notion though, the only thing wrong here was how worked up she was getting herself. "I have to die, walk along this Snake Way until I find a small planet, and then I may—MAY—be allowed to train with King Kai. There's no guarantees?!?!" Again, another nod from Piccolo. He seemed to not even be looking at her but more past her. If anything, his nonchalance only pissed her off even more. "And what am I supposed to do? Walk in front of a Mac truck? I don't think that's even going to work at this point."

Piccolo sighed with impatience. By now, he thought he'd be used to her Saiyan sized temper tantrums but she was hysterical. He watched her with curiosity and tried to understand how she felt. Yes, she was sixteen and he was basically asking her to say goodbye to everything she knew, but she wasn't letting him finish. "When you're done training, you can be brought back with the Dragonballs."

"Dragonballs, my ass. I don't care. I'm just a kid as you constantly throw in my face and I'm too young to die!" she wailed. She looked pitiful as she stood in the empty arena pouting at him. No longer was she the fiery Saiyan who'd proven that she was a force to be reckoned with. Her pout suddenly turned to a look of white hot anger though. "That's what you've been holding back isn't it! You didn't want to tell me the truth about having to die before I could train more."

"No…" Her anger just as quickly became confusion. She had been so sure of her assumption that she was suddenly unsure of what to think. _If it hadn't been that, then what?_

"Tell me, Piccolo." Her words had come out icily clear. She wanted to know the truth and nothing short of it. She watched him as he swallowed uneasily.

This was ground he didn't want to cover right now, but he didn't really see any other options as she would probably learn the truth anyway once she was in Otherworld. And it was better for her to know what to expect. It may or may not have an effect on whether she'd be allowed to train with anyone over there. "When you first came to train with me, I was just as curious as you are about your past." She stood staring at him maliciously. She didn't understand what the point of his story was and she didn't like not knowing one bit. He paused as if trying to find the right words. "When you weren't sleeping well, I looked at your dreams, hoping to find answers there."

"You invaded my privacy! They're my dreams, not your entertainment!" If she thought that dying had been difficult to understand she was having even more difficulty comprehending the reason for him to invade her mind.

"It was anything but that, Tessa." She scowled at him not finding his apology of any good. "But I did find out about your past some. Things that you still have blocked from memory."

"I don't want to hear it…at least not from you," she seethed. But somehow she knew that she was unable to stop the words that continued to spill from his mouth.

"Vegeta is your brother. You can't remember because of all that happened with Frieza, but he's your brother." Tessa stared wide-eyed at Piccolo. All this time, she had a brother, and yet he had never thought to tell her that. It explained so much now, but still she couldn't believe it.

She was so accustomed to the idea of being an orphan that even as her memories of being a Saiyan had just started to come back it had never occurred to her that she'd had a family then either. "No. Enough of your lies," she said softly as she closed her eyes and shook her head. It was denial, but it was easier than imagining that all this time she'd had a family. It was cruel that she'd never really had a chance to know them, and even worse that she'd forgotten them.

"Why would I lie?"

She hated him. That was all that mattered to her anymore. Dying suddenly didn't seem like all that bad of an idea. It would at least get her very, very far away from Piccolo. It never occurred to her that if she'd been better about meditation like he'd wanted, she wouldn't be waiting to find this out now. She could have discovered for herself—months ago.

She could only stare at him seething through clenched teeth as tears forced themselves from her eyes to spill down over her cheeks. Never before in her life had she felt so indignant. He'd known that she had a brother for all this time, practically since they'd first met and he never thought to tell her. Not until right before she needed to leave. "I hate you." She hadn't honestly thought that her words would hurt him, but he flinched obviously not liking the way they sounded coming from her. She didn't like the fact that he'd kept from her possibly the most important thing she could possibly think of—a family. Something that she could have been looking for or finding more about. "Is there more that you thought you'd leave out?"

"No." His word was crisp tainted with his own hurt feelings. She could've cared less though if his feelings were hurt. He meant nothing to her in her severly blurred vision now. It didn't matter that he'd been the one to find her, the one to give her something to keep waking up for in the morning. _You can't open a can of worms and then close it._

"Then just get this the heck over with. I don't have anything worth living for." She closed her eyes and only felt a moment of intense force on her chest and it was over.

**

* * *

**

A/N: Please Read & Review!


	7. Chapter 7: Snake Way

**Disclaimer: I don't own…wait…I do own these characters! Buah ha ha ha!**

Sorry about being slow. But this section has bothered me for a while. I've been toying with how much information to give and not give Tessa about herself because it will either limit me later by saying too much, or it will hinder me later by limiting her knowledge of the past. *taps chin* So hopefully after approximately four rewrites, I have reached the happy medium ground. Plus, being stuck with my mother for a week *grumbles curses in a Saiyan tongue* has completely sucked up all of my time to do my final rewrite.

OMGWDIWT?: Please don't kill me for this chapter. If I've done my job well, you won't.

**Chapter 7 – Snake Way**

Tessa felt disoriented as she looked around her new surroundings. Dying wasn't all that it was cracked up to be. She couldn't understand how she could be dead and yet still be feeling a slight breeze brush through her hair. She reached up running a hand through her hair and there was definitely a breeze, and something else. Her gaze shifted upwards and her eye caught something glittering and gold hovering over her head and she reached up gently to touch it with her fingertips. She had a halo. She just blinked at that one.

Finally, she allowed herself to shift her focus away and stared out ahead of her at the road before her that led up to a Japanese style building and then extended on beyond that. Piccolo had said she'd arrive at King Yemma's first and that Snake Way could be found beyond that. She got a bump from behind and bounced forward spinning to look back at the puff of white smoke that had tapped her. She then looked forward again to realize she was in a long line of the white puffs. _Spirits…_

She set her expression and took off running, leaping and jumping over the white puffs when necessary and as she neared the building she passed an ogre dressed in a white shirt and black tie. She kept running at full tilt and the ogre just turned to stare at her as she quickly scaled the wall of the building to the roof planning to go right up and over. "W-where are you going?! Get back in line!"

Tessa easily jumped from roof to roof of the building and in no time she was over the building and running along the path that led away from the palace and continued out into the nothingness. If her information was good then she just needed to follow this path and it would take her right to Snake Way, which apparently she couldn't miss for trying.

And Piccolo hadn't been kidding. The entrance to Snake Way made sure that the road was aptly named. Tessa stood stock still gazing at the entrance that was carved to look like a snake's mouth, the stairs set into the back of the snake's throat. She blinked a few times, glancing back and then stepped into the snake's mouth. Getting a jumpy feeling she quickly scaled the stairs so that she was now standing on the snake's back and the start of the path. _Right, just follow the yellow brick road. Humph…like I'll ever see a small planet, just these dumb yellow clouds for as far as the eye can see._

The road wound around itself curving back and forth across the sky set amongst enough yellow clouds to cover whatever it was that laid below. She sighed inwardly and set off again at an easy jog. _Just let this road take me to where I need to go._

After a few hours, Tessa slowed to a walk, and a few hours after that, it felt like she'd been walking forever. When she looked back, she realized that all she had managed to do was go around several large turns that left her only a few football field lengths from where she had started. She groaned out loud even though there was no one else around to hear her. _I'm so done wasting my time. I don't care if I have all of eternity or not._ She looked ahead of her to see that the road wound back in front of her several dozen yards ahead. She grinned to herself as she began to take a running leap but found herself coming face to face with someone's gloved hand right before she jumped.

"Hey what's the big idea?!?!"

"Now, now…there won't be none of that." She glared angrily around the hand to see the person's face and she realized that she knew the person who the hand was attached to.

"Get out of my way, Melon," she growled as she leapt back away from him, partially afraid that he might attack her again and attempt to drain her energy once again. "I thought that only the good souls make it to Snake Way." He was the second to last person she ever wanted to see again and as she hovered in the air and kept a sharp eye on him.

He reached out and quickly grabbed her ankle pulling her back down to the road. She glared at him angrily as he spoke. "Tsk, tsk. You should have done more homework. I'm a demon, which means that I know all the ins and outs of Otherworld. You're on my turf now, Babe. You can't fly or you'll fall off the road and trust me you don't want to do that. If you try you'll just fall right through those nice yellow clouds straight into Hell. And trust me, it's not worth it to meet Goz and Mez."

"Don't call me that," Tessa huffed as she turned to begin walking again seeing that he wasn't going to let her take the easy way out.

He ignored her comment and continued his lecture as he followed which turned Tessa's walk into a steady trod. "Snake Way is a place for souls to reflect upon their lives so they can decide where they want to go. King Yemma will send a soul out here fore however long it takes them to figure it out. I really just think he's stalling in order to make the decision himself, but who am I to say? Think of it like purgatory as you'd call it back on Earth."

"Well, I don't have all that much to reflect on since I'm only sixteen and I know where I want to go," she sneered as she picked up her pace again. Much faster and she'd be in a dead sprint it felt like. Still the demon kept up with ease.

Melon came up beside her and raised an eyebrow. She cursed him inwardly because once again he was so good looking and even though she knew it was just a deception, a terribly good disguise at that, she still wished that it hadn't ended like it had. It was a miserable feeling in the pit of her stomach that left her torn between wanting to continue ignoring him and kissing him. What little she could remember of the kiss before she'd blacked out had been good. "And where is that?"

"I'm going to train with King Kai," she said confidently, and as an afterthought, "As soon as I figure out where his planet is." She clenched her fists as she tried to quicken her pace and lose him but Melon kept up with her easily. She was afraid she'd decide to go with the latter and jump him for a kiss. She was dead after all, what harm could it do? She squeezed her eyes shut trying to ignore the impulse. Impulsive desires like that could certainly only get her into trouble.

"Quite the ambitious one, aren't you. And why would you wish to train with just one of the Kais?" he asked as he kept just a pace and a half behind her. Just close enough to realize that she was going through quite the varied range of emotions. "King Kai only looks over the northern quadrant of Earth's galaxy. There are infinite galaxies with an infinite number of Kais looking over them."

"I-I don't want to train with just him. Once I'm done there, I'm gonna find the planet of the Supreme Kais."

Melon let out a long and haughty laugh. "And who do you think you are, young girl? Not just anyone can waltz up to a Supreme Kai."

Tessa turned to glance back over her shoulder. "Well, I'm a Saiyan…" Melon didn't look the slightest bit impressed. "…and there's some things that I want to ask him."

"Right after you finish training with the Kais of the North, East, South, and West as well as the Grand Kai of the your galaxy. But you'll be waiting quite a good while to train with each of them. Their waiting lists are usually backed up for quite a while, sometimes for a millennia or two."

Tessa gulped at the thought of having to wait that long. Sure she'd remain sixteen years old throughout her entire stay here in Otherworld but it didn't sound attractive coming back to a world where everyone she'd once known was a pile of ash. Earth may not even be there by then. "I don't have that long to wait."

"Sure you do. You've got all the time in the universe, Babe."

"I told you to stop that." _Guess, I'm going to have a long time to try and remember who I am. But now I have a place to start. As much as Piccolo pissed me off, it does make a lot of sense now. _"If you don't mind, I'd like to be alone."

"I don't mind at all." He didn't take the hint and continued to walk beside her. She forced herself to ignore him as she crossed her arms over her chest and attempted to remember anything about her past.

_If Vegeta is my brother like Piccolo said, then I saw the fall of my father and people, not just my king. _Her thoughts paused as she came back to something more pressing to her at the present. _How could Piccolo betray me like that?!?! After all, I trusted him completely and he took advantage of that trust._

"Whoa, calm down, girl."

Tessa turned to look at Melon confused. _Huh?_ "I'm very calm. Don't tell me that I'm not," she retorted in agitation to his disruption.

"Yeah, that's why I'm getting extremely bad vibes from you," he snorted. "There's a lot of hatred there, along with distrust."

"How'd you know that," she questioned. He was watching her very keenly as if searching her mind.

"Just a feeling I can get sometimes. I learned it a long time ago."

"You mean you stole it."

He sighed at the accusation but nodded. "Touché. But it's not that big of a deal."

"Not until you kill someone." She narrowed her eyes at him and he sighed again.

"Look, it's a long walk. I don't have to play company," he replied holding his hands up defensively. The last thing he really needed was some bratty girl pouring salt in old wounds for him. It wasn't like he'd really tried to kill her. By the time the final match had started, it was merely self preservation. There's nothing like a Saiyan trying to kill you to inspire some bad decision making on your own part.

"Good, then go away! I've got plenty to think about," she snapped her head back around as her arms tightened over her chest. The last thing she wanted to do was give him the impression she cared what he did. She was starting to remember why she'd started to dislike him in the first place. _Arrogant prick…_

"Now you're the one who was bawling about having nothing to reflect on," he replied reasonably but it did nothing to alter her mood.

"Well…I thought of something," she snapped back.

"I could teach you," he offered watching cautiously for her reaction. He didn't want to get his hopes up too high. While he did think she had a bratty streak running through her, it was one that only seemed to come out when she was angry. Which apparently, he had succeeded in arousing in her. Otherwise, he kinda liked her. Granted, that was a problem too.

"Teach me what? How to be a thief like you? I don't think so." She stuck her nose in the air, putting on her best snobbish airs hoping to turn him off.

"No, no, no, no, no," he replied shaking his head and laughing. "That's an inborn talent and can't be taught. I could teach you how to sense a person's emotions. It's a lot like being able to sense someone's energy level."

"Oh…" She cursed herself for letting him catch her attention as she slowly turned to gaze over at him. She double cursed when she saw that he was grinning at the idea of teaching her something. She knew why—she couldn't send him away if she was too busy being tutored by him. "Let me guess, you stole that from me so you would know the comparison."

"Yes, yes," he conceded, "Now do you want to know or not?" She thought it over for a little while before nodding her head. "Okay, so when you're trying to sense someone's energy level, what you're really sensing is their ki, right?" Tessa nodded and Melon smiled again softly. "Now, a person's ki is more than just their energy, it's their emotions and their mind. It's essentially who they are as a person. So instead of focusing on their energy, you focus on the other parts of their ki and it gives you a sense of what their mental state is. For instance, when I protested, your ki felt cold to me."

Tessa was startled by his last statement. She had never really pictured herself as an ice queen before. But she recovered quickly enough as she narrowed her eyes at him. "Oh yeah, real simple there." But nonetheless she tried what he said, letting her focus shift from his energy to whatever else she could find out from his ki. He wore a blank look to hide any emotion on the outside, but she could sense that he was laughing…at her. "Knock it off, you big galoot," she said as she pushed him away from her.

He took a few stumbling steps backwards before he raced back up to her grinning and slapped her on the back. "See, not as hard as you thought. But you'll want to work on that. You get this funny little crease across the bridge of your nose when you're concentrating."

She sighed realizing that he'd been right. It was basically the same as sensing energies. "Thank you." She refused to look at him but she knew that he could sense through her voice that she was being sincere. It wasn't easy, she had her pride to protect and here she was thanking the very demon that she had tried to blast to smithereens. "But, I really think that I'd prefer to be alone."

"And I know you're lying through your teeth." She gritted her teeth at his comment and fought the urge to strangle him. What could she honestly do to him—they were both already dead. "You look so cute when you're pissed."

"Just…Shut…UP!" She hissed. He grinned as he placed an arm around her shoulders and rubbed her arm.

"You love me," he teased. _This is going to be a really long walk,_ she thought.

_

* * *

_

Tanga sighed as she laid her head back down on the pillow. It was late and yet she couldn't sleep a wink. She turned over in her bed taking in the feeling of the soft fabrics on her skin as she stared outside through the large picture windows. Outside it was storming like crazy, throwing broken branches at the glass. Each time a bolt of lighting zigzagged across her vision, she winced imagining that it had struck someone or something. She couldn't hear the echoing thunder that surely followed because the walls were thick and that scared her even more. She could be struck and she may not know it because she wouldn't hear it coming.

_"What's the matter, little one?" She turned back around to look at the door to her room. She immediately smiled when she recognized her mother's frame in the doorway. The Saiyan woman quickly made her way into the room and scooped the girl into her arms. "You're not scared of that storm are you?"_

_Tanga set her jaw and shook her head no. Her mother only smiled as she kissed the girl on the head before running her fingers through the girl's wild red locks. "I didn't think so. You'd be more afraid that Vegeta would tease you."_

_"Why does he tease me?"_

_"Because big brothers have to make sure that their little sisters are tough. That's their job." _

"_Do you think I could be trained like Veggie? Then he wouldn't have to tease me," Tanga reasoned and her mother smiled brushing loose strands of hair back._

"_No, I don't think so, dearest. You don't want to fight with those other kids. As the princess, you'd show them all up. And that wouldn't be fair, now would it?" Tanga shook her head and smiled sleepily as she leaned her head against her mother's chest. It wasn't long before she was rocked asleep in her mother's arms._

_As her mother laid her back down on the bed, Tanga opened her eyes groggily to see a young boy now at the bedside as well. His head was tilted to the side in wonder as her dark eyes met his own. "Night, Veggie," she sighed as she closed her eyes once more._

_"Good night, Tanga."_

* * *

Tessa rubbed her temples gently as she walked alongside Melon. They'd been walking in silence for a very long time and he didn't seem to mind at all. She'd been pondering her past and forcing whatever memories she could to the surface. Ever since meditating with Piccolo before the semi finals match she'd been able to recall her dreams and even bring a few other memories to surface during waking hours. And so far, she'd seen what had happened to her that had caused the separation from her brother in the first place. Frieza had put her through a black hole. Even with her high school education, she thought that black holes tore things apart. It was quite a thought to think that instead it had transported her through time and space to Earth nearly twenty-five hundred years in the future. That kind of happening was completely unheard of in all the scientific research.

She let out sigh of frustration. She really wasn't getting anywhere with this walking to the middle of nowhere and beyond. But if Melon wouldn't have been with her, she might have walked right off the road and into the yellow clouds as occasionally he would give her arm a yank back in the right direction. She'd been so focused on her memories, that it was as if she was sleep-walking.

"…you something."

"Huh?" Tessa was shook out of her thoughts and realized that Melon had spoken and was gazing intently down at her waiting for her to respond. "What'd you say?" She blinked as she looked up at him and he looked strained.

He had been about to tell her how sorry he was for what had happened at the tournament. How he'd kissed her for as innocent a reason as a kiss can be without the intention of stealing her energy. How he was cursed and that's why she'd been hurt. And how after he'd stolen her energy it had affected him in a way he hadn't expected. But looking down at her now… "Nothing." He turned away from her, unable to look her in the eye at the moment because he was afraid of what might come tumbling out of his mouth. He didn't trust himself so he stared in the opposite direction.

She followed his gaze and saw a great mansion ahead of them. Like the entrance to the road, its doorway was shaped like the head of snake, its mouth gaping open. Tessa felt sudden chills. "What's that?" she pointed at the building with curiosity.

"Princess Snake," he growled. Tessa raised her eyebrows as she waited for a real explanation. "She tries to lure in travelers of Snake Way in order to eat them. Not a pleasant fate. You may not be able to die again, but you can be removed from existence if you manage to lose your ethereal body as well," Melon said gazing down at Tessa pointedly.

"What? I'm not dumb enough to walk in there now that I've been warned," she muttered crossing her arms defensively over her chest. "Have you ever?" she asked raising an eyebrow.

"No. I've just heard stories. Most people run off the road and drop into Hell in an attempt to escape."

"Oh."

"How did you ever manage to leave Hell anyway?"

"It took a really long time, but I finally bested both Goz and Mez and was shown the tunnel and stairway out. It brought me right to King Yemma's desk drawer."

"But how did you get to Earth for the tournament? Piccolo told me I'd have to be wished back on the Dragonballs."

"You will. It's how Piccolo returned to Earth after so many years in Hell himself."

"Piccolo was in Hell?" Tessa's eyes widened before blinking.

"Voluntarily. He liked to think of himself as a peacekeeper," Melon snorted. "Once Hell was peaceful, he bored with us and had himself wished back to Earth."

"Okay, but I still don't understand how you got to the tournament," Tessa said placing a hand on Melon's arm and it caused him to glance down at her, his expression softening. She had to admit, she was now curious.

"I was able to convince King Yemma to give me a chance to earn my freedom. If I had won the tournament, he would have made me a mortal human. I guess he knew all along that you would be there fighting twice as hard to obtain your own goals."

"Yin and yang. It's how the universe works by opposing two opposite forces," Tessa muttered under her breath.

"You've got it a little backwards. It's how they work the universe to entertain themselves. King Yemma even had his own son, Koenma, there watching on to see how it would all turn out."

"Guess you don't like King Yemma much."

"Or the Kais. Look, forget about my grumbling because it's meaningless. I'll help you get to King Kai's planet and then you'll never have to hear about me or my hellbound existence ever again." Tessa found herself feeling pity for Melon even though she was trying to fight it off. She also felt as if she didn't want that to happen, that she wanted to hear hundreds of things from him and none of them would be heard as grumbling to her. _He used me. He tricked me once and could be trying to do it again._ _But why does he feel so sad like as soon as I leave he'll never be happy ever again._

* * *

Melon could only stare at the beauty beside him and mentally kick himself. Here was someone who was actually listening but who would always doubt him because of the way he'd mistreated her. And all along, he'd liked her a great deal, he just wasn't able to accept it himself because he knew that he'd have to beat her in order to win the tournament--to win his freedom. It had been the perfect lose-lose situation. If he'd lost the tournament as he did, he'd be back in Hell. If he'd won the tournament, he would have done so by beating her and therefore making her never want to see him again. And the moment he'd seen her at the preliminaries, she had become his entire reason for wanting to become human again.

King Yemma was in short, fucking with him.

"So why exactly did you come here. I'm guessing it wasn't just to train. There may be a shortage of people worthy of training under on Earth, but enough to keep you busy for at least one lifetime."

"No. I wanted to learn more about my brother…something happened to him. Something horrible for Piccolo to refuse to tell me about him. I just want to know what happened. I've never really had much of a family, so I guess I'm just trying to reclaim some of my past in a sense."

"Quite the noble quest."

"Thanks for your approval," she sneered. Melon sighed but couldn't help but feel overwhelmed. She still hadn't tried to throw him off the road even though she was thousands of times stronger than him. Not to mention the fact that he'd told her that falling off the road would land him right where he belonged. "Look, I doubt you would know anything about Saiyans so just bug off."

"Actually I know quite a bit. Have you forgotten where I was banished to, my dear—Hell, which is exactly where practically your entire race now resides."

"Are you trying to make a point?" She looked startled by what he'd said and he narrowed his eyes wondering just how little Piccolo had told her about the Saiyans.

"Yeah, I am. The Saiyans were a warrior race who relished fighting. When Frieza showed up, he took advantage of that and used them for his own greed and benefit to destroy entire races in order to sell their planets on the black market. As the Saiyans died, they went right where they belonged—Hell, with me."

Tessa looked like she was choking. "No, that's not true." She turned and quickly hastened away from him. But no matter how fast she tried to walk Melon was determined to keep up with her.

"Oh, but it is. You may have disillusioned yourself, but they're nothing but a race of murderers."

"NO! Not me, not my brother, not my parents either!" she cried, tears starting to form and slip down her cheeks.

"Come on now. They were a race of warriors. If they didn't like fighting they were sent away to be 'toughened up'."

"No…" Her walking looked like it was becoming unsteady almost as if she were drunk. She finally collapsed to her knees in a sobbing mess. "Not my brother. He wouldn't…"

"I've met a lot of Saiyans, and they've all killed at least one person. At least one. Most have killed thousands and I doubt your brother is any exception."

"NOT Vegeta. He wouldn't!" she sobbed. She knew better than that. Her brother had not been someone who could be pushed around. She couldn't believe that her brother had stayed under Frieza's thumb to be used.

Melon knelt beside her and placed his hands on her shoulders lifting her back up. _Vegeta? She must be kidding. He's the one they scoff and insult for making it to upper world. _"Vegeta?"

"Yes, Vegeta. He's my brother. Frieza separated us when I was only five." _The princess?! She must be more delusional than I thought._

"Vegeta didn't have a sister. You must be mistaken," Melon lied, testing her just a little.

"NO! He did and I'm her." She looked up at him and he could tell in her dark eyes that she wasn't kidding. She was the missing princess. "Whatever happened, Frieza made them do what they did. We never had a choice," she sniffed. "I do remember that much."

"Then I'll tell you about your brother. You'd be surprised I think." Tessa blinked as she allowed him to pull her back up to her feet.

"You will? You'll tell me everything you know?"

"As much as I know. Turns out he's quite influential on Earth's history." Tessa flung herself at Melon and gave him a hug that made the demon's heart melt. _If I would've know it was this easy to get her attention; I would have done it a long time ago._

Melon gently pried himself loose of her tight grip and held her at arms length as he gazed down at her before smiling gently as he brushed her tears away with his gloved fingers. He then linked his arm in hers and led her along the road with patience as she stared up at him in awe. "Your brother served Frieza for over twenty years, Tess. He was sent on various missions with Raditz and Nappa, the only other surviving Saiyans, to capture planets or destroy them for Frieza's use.

"However, there was a forth Saiyan that was in Frieza's use, one named Kakarot, who had only been a small infant when Planet Vegeta was destroyed. Frieza had the small boy's mind programmed and sent him to Earth so that he could destroy all life on it and take it for Frieza. But when Kakarot landed on Earth, his memory was erased and a martial artist named Gohan found him. Gohan raised the boy under a new name, Goku, until an unfortunate accident took the elderly man's life. But Goku was found by someone else, a young teenage girl named Bulma and he went with her to search for the Dragonballs." Melon glanced down to see if Tessa was following the story so far and she nodded almost eagerly for him to continue. "These Dragonballs were created by Kami, who was guardian of the earth at the time, and based on the ones from his home planet, Namek. Well, eventually Goku met several others including Krillin, Master Roshi, and Piccolo. And among all of these people, his life was changed. He became an exceptional fighter, like you Tessa, and became one of Earth's greatest defenses. That's why I recognized your friend's name.

"Well, eventually Raditz was sent to Earth to find out why Kakarot had failed to take control. It turned out that Raditz was Goku's older brother but that didn't mean that Raditz cared any. Raditz saw Goku as a failure to the Saiyans and Goku saw his brother as a threat to the life that he'd come to know. Raditz kidnapped Gohan, Goku's son, determined to turn the halfling into a real fighter and together, Piccolo and Goku went after him. Piccolo was eventually able to kill Raditz but Goku sacrificed himself in the process. Before Raditz died, he warned the Z Fighters that two more Saiyans were to arrive in a year.

"When Goku died, he did the same thing you're doing now. He went to train with King Kai for the entire year becoming stronger and learning more powerful attacks. Piccolo took Gohan to train in hopes of awakening the boy's Saiyan powers. Others went in search of the Dragonballs in order to wish Goku back before the other Saiyans arrived.

"The other two Saiyans were Vegeta and Nappa of course, and when they arrived, the battle began between them and Piccolo, Tien, Chiaotzu, Yamcha, Yajirobe and Gohan. Vegeta and Nappa planted seeds that produced the Saibaimen and Yamcha died almost immediately. Vegeta grew bored and stood back watching Nappa continue the fight. The others trusted Gohan to use an extremely powerful attack to finish off his opponent but he failed. Piccolo then sacrificed himself to save Gohan's life. Krillin then wished for Goku's return from King Kai's and Goku defeated Nappa easily with his new training. Vegeta got angry that his companion was wounded and finished the job—killing Nappa himself."

Melon looked down at Tessa to see her reaction of shock and horror. Luckily, disbelief wasn't in the mix. He swallowed before proceeding. "Goku then began his attack on your brother and partially out of desperation Vegeta transformed himself into his Great Ape form. One of the warriors, Yajirobe, defeated Vegeta by cutting off his tail leaving him badly injured and he barely escaped in his pod to return back to Frieza's ship. Starting then, Vegeta despised Goku, whom he still called Kakarot, for being able to defeat him. Vegeta believed that his royal blood line should have allowed him to easily defeat Goku so it came to him as a shock when he was defeated.

"Goku was also badly hurt during the fight and was rushed to a hospital. The others wanted to use the Dragonballs to wish back those who had died but because Piccolo sacrificed himself the Dragonballs were inert. Kami told them about Namek where there existed another set of Dragonballs, the original ones. Bulma, Krillin and Gohan all left in one of Bulma's space ships not realizing that there were two other forces after the Dragonballs as well." Tessa's eyes were wide with interest. Melon fought the urge to laugh thinking that she must not have heard many good stories before. "Not long after they left, Goku was well enough to go too and left on his own for Namek."

"When Vegeta returned, Frieza was furious and was already planning on how to deal with the last of the Saiyans but was also preoccupied by his goal to obtain immortality. He planned on using the Namekian Dragonballs and use one of the wishes to gain his immortality. Frieza landed on Namek and began gathering the Dragonballs and slaughtering the Nameks but he made one fatal mistake. He left your brother behind while he was recovering and Vegeta learned of both of Frieza's plans. After being rehabilitated, Vegeta was stronger than ever due to the Saiyan trait that makes you stronger after coming close to death." Tessa nodded realizing that's why she was so close to becoming a Super Saiyan after spending so much time in the hospital. It would also explain her sudden surge in strength right before she'd run away. Melon noted the thoughtful creases on Tessa's forehead but continued on. "He was furious and took off for Namek as well, determined that he would get the Dragonballs first, wish for his own immortality and defeat Frieza, gaining revenge for the way he'd been treated."

"And our family," Tessa whispered.

"Yes, I suppose that might have been part of his reasoning. The Earthlings finally reached Namek at around the same time as Frieza and Vegeta. The three parties were basically forced into a race to gather the Dragonballs, one which Frieza appeared to be winning. Somehow, the Earthlings managed to steal the Dragonballs from Frieza and were able to make two wishes from Porunga, the dragon guardian of Namek.

"Frieza was furious and he attacked them, beating most of them easily until Goku stepped forward. Even Vegeta fell against Frieza but Goku somehow managed to win the battle. It's said he did so by becoming a Super Saiyan However, Namek was destroyed in the fight causing both Goku and Frieza to disappear into space and it was a full year before Goku returned to Earth. But by then another danger had arisen unbeknownst to them. Earth's warriors were unprepared and were easily defeated. Thus all life on Earth was destroyed, sending it back into the dark ages and it took thousands of years for it to become the way you know it today."

Tessa was silent as she took in everything he said before finally speaking. "I thought you said my brother was influential on Earth's past."

"Just imagine how they would have fared with two Saiyans fighting."

"So that's it. That was the end of Earth. They decided to play God and let my brother remain dead when they could have wished him back on the Dragonballs."

"They couldn't trust him…"

"But he deserved a second chance," she argued.

"Really? After trying to kill everyone and manipulating people, he should just be handed a second chance. No questions asked."

Tessa frowned as she tried to process his words and sighed. "I guess I'm a little biased."

"Just a little. But if you're into handing out the second chances…" Melon raised his eyebrows at her suggestively and she playfully pushed him away. He recovered his balance by setting one foot back and jogged up to her side again. "Don't worry, I'll eventually convince you that I deserve one." _Somehow._

"How exactly did you hear this whole story anyhow?"

"When you're sitting in Hell, you don't have anything better to do then tell old tales, or listen to them."

"I guess not," she replied wrapping her arms loosely across her stomach as she kept her gaze lowered in thought.

"I heard it straight from Raditz, Nappa, and Frieza themselves," Melon said as he winked at her but she did not respond with the same playful attitude. In fact, she hardly responded at all.

* * *

Tessa was lost in thought as they walked. She didn't really know what to think anymore because she was so easily influenced as of now because of her lack of knowledge. It seemed that Melon knew more about her brother than she did. But that wasn't such an odd thing considering that she had only known him for the first five years of her life. After that he could've become anything…even the murderer that Melon had described. _Vegeta became a ruthless fighter, but never the Super Saiyan that he'd dreamed of._ She gave a soft sigh as she stretched her arms out behind her in quiet content. She gazed back at Melon and couldn't help but feel that maybe the company wasn't so bad.

"What are you going to do when I finally reach King Kai's?" she asked innocently.

She could almost sense the wheels turning in his head as he tried to come up with a response. "I honestly don't know. I guess I'll eventually have to go back." He looked down at her with sad eyes that seemed to plead for more time. She honestly felt that he wanted her to remain on Snake Way for all eternity just so he could stay here with her.

"Why don't you come with me? Or would that cause a problem?"

There was a short twinkle of hope that danced across his blue eyes but it seemed to fade almost as quickly. "King Kai will most likely tell me to leave. I'm a demon, not a party guest."

"You could be my personal coach. You know a trainer, someone who cheers me on when I want to quit. At least until someone finally tells you to get lost." She smiled at him trying to give him the slightest sliver of hope and he nodded slowly.

"I suppose." He shoved his hands deep into his pockets and seemed to fade off into his own thoughts.

Tessa decided that maybe she could do her own thinking for awhile if he wasn't up to talking anymore. _This really does stink. I'm sixteen and I've hardly lived! There are so many things I should've done, but noooo…I wanted to train with the Kais. God, I'm stupid or something. This stupid obsession with trying to find some semblance of family. Why can't I just accept that I don't have one?"_

"No, you're not stupid."

"Were you…eavesdropping in my head?" she asked suspiciously.

"Maybe." He was smirking at her in his odd little way. "Did I forget to mention that I'm telepathic too?"

"Steal that one as well?"

"If you must know," he sighed expecting the worst yet again.

"Think you could teach me?" she asked skipping right over the indignant stage this time much to Melon's surprise which he could do little to hide on his face.

"Same as before except it just takes more concentration." Tessa nodded as she focused on him hoping that he wasn't a blank slate just to screw with her. His gaze was steady on her so that they were staring right into one another's eyes, neither blinking. If it had been anyone else, she would have been creeped out by it, but for some reason, she found his gaze to be far from hardened and stern, but quite the opposite. _She's got beautiful eyes. I've never seen any others so bright and dark at the same time. I could melt in those eyes I think. And I should be thinking about something else. What if she's reading my mind already? Shit, shit, shit, think, Melon, think! Freckles…no! Um, I wonder if she'd let me kiss her again? Bad idea, and you should know that, man. Uh…_

Her eyes snapped wide as his thoughts rushed through her own mind at what seemed like warp speed but she was able to understand them easily enough. He felt strange hearing his voice in her head. Stranger still to realize that he'd invited her to listen to his thoughts but was completely incapable of controlling them. She brought a hand to her mouth in surprise. "Oh!" Tessa could feel her cheeks burn and she quickly averted her eyes. She held her hands up to her cheeks hoping to hide the blushing but she felt it was useless, he'd know.

"Sorry about that. My mind can wander sometimes," he said lowering his own gaze as he chewed on his lower lip.

"Wander where? Straight into the gutter?" she teased trying to overcome her own embarrassment by mocking his.

"Only to clean out." She looked back up at him and realized that he was just as embarrassed as her and why wouldn't he be? He held a hand to the back of his head as he laughed nervously. "I meant it though. I know I've done a lot of terrible things to you, but you have to believe me when I say that I wish I hadn't. I'm sorry." Tessa was so flabbergasted by his apology that she didn't know what to say. She could only stare straight ahead and fight the urge to not do something she'd regret. Such as forgive him too quickly. He could have just been apologizing hoping that she'd never get mad with him again even though he thoroughly deserved it. But hadn't she already killed his chance of becoming human by defeating him at the tournament? Was it really necessary to keep rubbing it in by being mad at him too?

"Hey, um…is that it up ahead?" She pointed ahead of them to a small planet that hovered at the end of the road. She could hardly believe it. After all this, she'd finally made it.

"Yeah…that's it." She was so excited that she missed the hurt in his voice as she took off running.

**

* * *

**

**A/N: Please Read & Review!**

I would really like some input, I know I've got readers out there...I see you! (via the stats) It'd be really helpful to know if people love or _hate _the fact that I'm trying to redeem Melon as a character. Your input could really help me flush out the next few chapters because right now I have a decently sized gaping hole between the next chapter and what should be a few chapters down the road. Who knows? Your thoughts could very well inspire me to flush that out and get the next chapters posted right quick like a bunny on crack!


	8. Chapter 8: King Kai's Planet

**Disclaimer: I make no claims about the existence of God, gods, or Kais.**

OMGWDIWT?: Hopefully the pace is moving at an acceptable pace. I'm trying to rush and not rush at the same time. That type of oxymoron is hard to capture.

**Chapter 8 – King Kai's Planet**

Tessa found herself falling towards the planet at a rapid speed and at the last minute threw out her limbs like a cat to land on all fours. She still hit hard and the shock resonated up through her limbs into her torso as she groaned before falling over onto her side. "What the hell?"

Melon landed beside her in a crouched position, standing up slowly but still straining under the increased gravity of the planet. "No, not Hell," he said looking around.

She pushed herself up slowly grunting and with a final heave managed to stand, nearly toppling back down onto her butt in the process as her arms wind milled for balance. "What's with this place? Why do I feel so heavy?"

"King Kai's planet has the same gravity as Planet Vegeta had. Ten times that of Earth."

Tessa turned to stare wide eyed at Melon before blinking. "But, I-I moved so easily when I was a child. There's no way!" Melon only shrugged in response as Tessa began to attempt to walk towards a small house that lay on the horizon that curved with the planet. Her walking looked more like an old codger's trudge up a steep hill. "King Kai?!?!"

"Who's there?" A short portly man appeared out of a dome shaped house. He was blue in color and dressed in black robes with black antenna coming from his forehead that whisked back and forth with his movement. He walked over to her and Melon and gazed at him up and down. "Hmm…a fighter," he said rubbing his chin, using his other hand to pinch Melon on the arm to feel his bicep.

"You've got the wrong one. I'm just here to observe," Melon said flinching away from the Kai's touch. He quickly clasped his hands behind him as he bowed his head slightly hoping to win back a few points in the respect department.

King Kai looked slightly startled as he turned to look down at Tessa. "Yes sir. I wish to train with you."

"Humph. Well, not just anyone can train with me," King Kai proclaimed as he looked down at the relatively small girl.

Tessa pouted, her lower lip nearly trembling in fear that she would be turned away so quickly. She clasped her hands together in front of her chest as she begged, "Oh, I would do anything. Please, I just want to train." She could tell that he was feeling doubtful because she was a girl.

"Well, you'll have to do what everyone has done before."

"And that is?" she asked hesitantly. She wasn't sure she was capable of performing any feats of strength on this planet at the moment and she'd be devastated if she had to turn away now just because she wasn't used to the gravity. She knew with time she'd adjust, if he'd just give her that time.

"Make me laugh."

"What? Is that some kind of joke?" The corner of her mouth twitched up in a confused expression as her brows furrowed. She really wasn't certain about this guy anymore. He did not look amused by her retort and she quickly caught herself before saying something else that would call his methods into question. Besides, a joke wasn't a physical feat. It should be easy no matter what the gravity. "Um, right…a joke." She rested her chin in her hand trying to think of something that was funny. She grinned as she grabbed his hand before he could protest and traced a line across the back of it. "There's a river that's a hundred miles wide and a hundred miles deep. And a little bunny rabbit wants to cross it, how does he get across?"

The Kai narrowed his eyes at her as he thought and Melon watched on curiously. "Flies?" Tessa shook her head no. "Uses a Kamehameha to separate the water." Tessa laughed but shook her head no again. "Then what?!" he demanded.

"I don't know either, I just wanted to hold your hand." He jerked his hand away with a small smile but didn't laugh. Tessa fought the urge to get down while her mind reeled. "Knock, knock."

"Don't even waste your breath. I've heard them all."

Tessa sighed, "Why'd the chicken cross the road?"

"Those too."

"Look! You've got to train me so I can meet Supreme Kai and ask him about my brother, Vegeta!" Tessa was shocked as King Kai began laughing long and hard. "Hey, that wasn't funny. I'm serious. I'm a princess! You shouldn't mock me!" It was the first time that it struck her that she was royalty and felt indignant for it.

It only made the Kai laugh harder. "Vegeta, your brother. That's original." He was holding his great gut as he continued laughing and Tessa could feel herself surpassing indignant as she became enraged, the blood rising in her cheeks and a vein began to throb in her forehead.

"She's not joking, sir." Melon grabbed Tessa's arm and stopped her from lunging at the Kai. "Her brother really is the Saiyan prince."

"Then that would mean…" He stared at her intently as if slowly recognizing the resemblance. "You're a Saiyan?" King Kai's eyes were widened as he looked down at her taking in her short stature and long spikey hair.

"Gee, you think?" She couldn't help but feel somewhat snide at this point. Besides, he was the one who had laughed at something that was her only defining feature currently. Melon placed his hands heavily on her shoulders to make sure she wouldn't make any quick moves. Not like she was capable of them at the moment anyway.

King Kai gave her a thoughtful look as if sizing her up now that he had seen her anger before returning his gaze to Melon. His features looked far too human to even be partially Saiyan. "And who are you then? Surely not a Saiyan."

"No sir. Just a demon," he sighed. Tessa glanced back over her shoulder to see that he was looking down in shame, the usual twinkle gone from his eyes. He really was ashamed of being a demon so maybe it wasn't that far out of an idea that he would give anything to redeem himself.

"Hmm…a demon and a Saiyan, it must be my lucky day." He turned and walked back towards the house and Tessa watched in confusion.

"Is he going to train me or what?" she hissed. Melon simply shrugged as he sat down on a rock to rest his head in his hands. He was confused himself trying to understand why King Kai hadn't told him to leave. He rubbed his hands over the top of his head mussing up his hair as he tried to understand. Why did the Kai trust him? He was a demon, that was the very last thing any Kai would want to associate with.

King Kai eventually poked his head out of the front door watching them expectantly. "Well, are you coming? I know how you Saiyans are. All you want is food," he sighed.

Tessa blinked turning to look down at Melon. "Come to think of it, I am hungry," she said. "How long were we on Snake Way?"

"Long enough," he replied looking up at her stoically. "It's different for everyone. For those who need more time to think, it's longer. For those who don't, it's shorter. It winds like that for a reason. Besides, time is usually irrelevant in Otherworld." He stood up slowly and walked with her towards the house.

Immediately, Tessa's mouth began to salivate at the scent of food. It'd been so long since she'd had real home cooked food and she didn't really care what it was at this point. Camping in the wilderness with Piccolo had meant basic foods at best and at the tournament, she'd been eating through a tube mostly. She slid down to sit cross legged at the table and grinned to see all the different foods stacked in front of her. "It looks so delicious," she sighed.

King Kai snorted before grabbing two bowls of the many on the table. He kept one and pushed the other one on Melon. "Quick, before she eats your hand in the process of trying to steal your food."

Tessa just blinked up at the Kai and then at Melon. "What are you talking about? I have table manners. And you can't possibly think I'll eat all of this!" She gaped at the vast quantities of food. She'd just thought they were for the portly Kai himself.

"Hmm…if that's true, you'd make for the most unusual Saiyan I've ever met," King Kai commented as he began to eat the food in his own bowl.

Tessa tried to keep the hurt look at bay as she began to eat as ladylike as possible. She certainly wasn't going to give him the satisfaction of being right. But the longer they sat there eating, the more her stomach seemed to growl. It truly must have been a long time since she'd eaten. By the time she'd finished, she'd managed to eat at least half of what the Kai had set aside for her and she patted her stomach as it had finally quieted. "Your cooking is very good, King Kai," she said bowing her head slightly.

"And polite?! Are you sure you're a Saiyan?"

"I was raised by human parents since I was six," she replied innocently. "Until recently, I didn't even remember that I was Princess Tanga. I've just always been plain, boring Tessa. Even now it's weird to think that I used to have an entirely different life."

"Humph. Well, training will certainly bring some of those things back. And it will also bring back your appetite I imagine. Saiyans and their stomachs," he muttered carrying the dishes to the sink. "And if I'm cooking, the least you can do is clean the dishes."

Yes sir!" Tessa was immediately on her feet juggling the rest of the bowls to the sink as she began to make up the soapy water she'd need.

King Kai just continued to watch her in awe as began to adjust to the gravity while performing the chore. She broke a few dishes in her surprise but it only constituted a small percentage overall and it wasn't like he couldn't get more. He turned to look back at the demon who continued to sit stoically at the table, quiet since he'd entered the house and looked to be quite lost in his own thoughts. "You boy, what's your name?"

"Melon, sir," he replied standing up and bowed his head respectfully.

"Help her. Obviously you're not nearly as clumsy in this gravity." Melon nodded again before moving swiftly to the sink and picked up a drying towel. They stood side by side at the sink as King Kai left the house and went back outside. "A Saiyan and a demon. My lucky day," he repeated to himself.

* * *

Tessa emerged from the house after washing and drying every single plate and bowl used in the Saiyan proportioned meal with a better appreciation for the consequences of her alien appetite. She hoped she wouldn't eat the much all the time and that the old Kai was just screwing with her when he said about Saiyan appetites. Although it could be true. Her stomach had done more than rumble at the meager portions Piccolo produced.

"What now, King Kai?" Tessa asked as she came to stand behind him. He looked deep in thought but his head lifted as soon as she spoke and he turned smiling back at her.

"Now we begin the first stage of your training. I want you to catch Bubbles."

_What?! _There was no way that she'd managed to contain her surprise and the Kai just seemed amused by her reaction. "Uh…I don't see any bubbles floating around here." The Kai shook his head and pointed to a nearby tree where a monkey was hanging upside down. "Right…" She began walking towards the tree and immediately the monkey dropped down and ran off. _Oh man…_ She tried to run after him but found it extremely difficult. She could sense Melon's watching gaze from behind her and clenched her teeth in determination. She wasn't about to humiliate herself in front of anyone.

Despite the strain it was putting on her, she forced herself to a jog and then to a sprint. She could see the monkey just disappearing over the curve of the planet and she made herself to go even faster. She was catching up as she passed Melon and King Kai. Both looked amused as if they'd never seen anything funnier than a girl chasing a monkey in circles around a small planet.

It went on for hours as the stupid monkey continued to stay just out of reach. She wasn't even going to try and remember how many times she'd run laps around the planet. As she made another pass of the house, she made a lung forward and the monkey took off at an even faster rate than he'd shown before. Tessa struck the ground with her fist in frustration as she slowly pushed herself up only to flop over onto her back in front of the other two beings. "One hundred fifty-three times, Tessa."

"Huh?" she panted.

"You ran past us one hundred fifty-three times."

"Dumb monkey," she said pushing herself up so that her back was towards them and she gazed at Bubbles. The object of her hatred jumped up and down several feet from her in what seemed like boundless energy. "I'm killing it when I get my hands on it." She gazed at the monkey thoughtfully as she considered all of the tactics she'd tried thus far, which had pretty much been limited to a straight out chase. Maybe she was going about this wrong. It was just a dumb monkey after all. If she applied any strategy whatsoever his stupid energetic speed wouldn't matter for much. But what if this was training to build up her speed. If she applied too much strategy then she might be missing the point of the training.

"You wouldn't believe the number of times I've heard that," the Kai said bringing Tessa out of her reverie. She groaned as she fell onto her back, her head landing in Melon's lap. She was too tired to even bother to move from the position as she closed her eyes.

* * *

Melon was startled by Tessa's lack of concern when it came to her position. She laid with her head in his lap, eyes closed, and her breathing slowing from her exerted pant back down to normal. Unsure of what to do, he supported her shoulders as he stood up and then helped her to her feet. She was heavy, but with a small grunt he had her standing on her feet but she continued to lean on him. _What happened to petite? _He hadn't noticed how heavy she'd been on Earth. Was the gravity really that big of a factor in amplifying the weight of her gi now? No wonder she was struggling to catch the monkey.

King Kai had already left to go inside and had indicated that Melon should follow with Tessa whenever she was ready to move again. "You must be tired, I'm sure he has a place to sleep."

"Mmm…a bed. God that sound good." She looked up at him through half lidded eyes and he was certain that his heart skipped a beat. _My heart, Great Kai, I have one to skip beats._ She moved away from him and began stomping more or less to the dome shaped house. He followed in slight amusement as he pondered the thoughts.

By the time she reached the doorway, she was yawning and stretching her arms up above her head, causing her vertebrae to crack with abuse. King Kai just ushered her further her into the house to a small room with a straw mat, pillow and blanket. She smiled thinking about how it was so much better than just the ground and a rock and practically dove at it. She hugged the pillow and grinned broadly as she pulled the clean blanket up over her head and instantly fell into a deep sleep.

Melon found himself pausing at the house's door though and waited until he saw King Kai close the door to the room Tessa was staying in. The Kai simply nodded in acknowledgement before going further into the house himself. Melon sighed as he leaned against the doorframe. It'd been a long time since he'd needed sleep before but with everything that had happened he too felt nearly as exhausted as Tessa had looked.

He wandered back outside partially grateful that King Kai hadn't decided to quiz him on why he was accompanying a Saiyan girl around the Otherworld. He didn't know the answer yet for himself. Melon sat down, with his back against a tree as he pondered the question. Eventually he would have to have an answer for someone. Whether it was a Kai or her. _Am I just using her to stay out? No…I really do want to be around her. It feels more like I need to be around her though. Since when have I felt that? _He sighed knowing the answer to that one. It had been a very, very long time.

But Tessa herself was quite the little mystery. For as intrigued as he was by her, he knew very little about the Saiyan girl. As soon as she'd told him she was Saiyan, he'd realized Tessa was certainly not a Saiyan name and when she'd finally told King Kai her name, it was the first time he'd heard it as well. He had to wonder if she even realized what she'd said herself.

Of course, he'd heard a few stories that mentioned Vegeta having a sister, but none of them had ever described her much, let alone mentioned her name. So it surprised him to think that of all people, he'd stumbled upon Princess Tanga at the World Martial Arts Tournament some few thousand years after the last of her race had died.

* * *

At some point he must have fallen asleep because he was aware that he was waking up and could only assume that several hours had passed. He went back inside the house to see if Tessa was awake and possibly eating because she most certainly was not chasing the monkey who was busy trying to kill him with apples that plunged straight into the ground upon impact. He dodged another apple casting an angry look back at the monkey who only danced from one foot to another on the tree branch in response. Melon just growled under his breath and ducked in through the doorway and was surprised to hear Tessa's scream echo throughout the house.

He raced to the room that he'd seen King Kai lead her to before and plowed through the door to find her thrashing on the ground, still fast asleep. He fell to his knees beside her, grabbing her by the shoulders as he attempted to pin her down before she could hurt herself. "Tess, wake up. It's just a bad dream."

"NO! Stop it! You're hurting him!" she sobbed. Melon pulled her up gently pulling her head to his chest and could feel the icy salt water dampen his shirt.

"Shh…it's just a dream." He stroked her back hoping to calm her but she continued to cry and scream.

"Monster! Let him go!" She punched and scratched at him but Melon only held her tighter against him. She eventually stopped but continued to sob as she hugged him back. "I'm sorry…I'm so sorry, Veggie."

Melon's eyes went wide as he stared down at her red hair. _Veggie…she must be referring to Vegeta._ He became aware of the Kai's presence behind him and turned to look at the blue man.

"Does this happen often?" King Kai asked gazing down surprised by the volume the girl was able to produce. It was unnatural to say the least.

"I don't know. It's the first I've seen it, Sir." Melon quickly snapped his head back around to gaze down at Tessa as he continued to hold her tightly afraid that she might break out into fresh hysterics if he let her go.

"Hmm…" It was the only response the Kai gave before walking away, his brows furrowed in thought.

Tessa grew still in Melon's arms and he gently laid her back down before brushing the wet strands of hair out of her face as she slowly awoke. "Melon?"

"What is it, Tess?"

"I had a nightmare." She sounded so innocent, almost childlike in her statement. "But it was more than that. It was a memory." Fresh tears were rolling down her cheeks as she pushed herself back up into a sitting position and latched herself onto the demon. She fingered the red welts on his chest tentatively and choked back a sob. "I did that didn't I? I'm so sorry, please don't leave me."

"I have no intention of doing that." She cried as she buried her face into his chest and allowed him to rest his own head on top of hers. "I don't ever plan on leaving you," he sighed into the wild red strands of hair. He wasn't sure if she heard him or not but he certainly hoped that she did.

* * *

Tessa went after Bubbles furiously. As she ran laps around the planet she viewed them as punishment as she mentally kicked herself for looking so vulnerable. She hated herself for having such vivid recollections but in a way she was grateful for them. Her dreams were becoming more vivid now that she could remember them. And with the vivid pictures came more frightening truths of her past. She was beginning to wonder how the hell she ever managed to survive being a child.

One of her latest nightmares still clung to her mind, and kept forcing itself to the forefront of her attention.

_Tanga watched through a ventilation shaft as her brother fired a small energy blast to kill a nearby rat and it startled her causing her to tumble and shoot out of the ventilation shaft. She rolled onto the ground and after several long moments picked herself up and brushed herself off. Vegeta just stared at her stoically. "What are you doing here girl?"_

"_Why did you leave me, Veggie?" she asked, answering his question with one of her own._

"_I wasn't exactly given a choice," the boy sighed scooting over on the box he was seated and patted it for her to come sit beside him. She tried to pull herself up but wasn't able to on her short legs and Vegeta gently lifted her up beside him. "Father told me I had to go with Frieza." His eyes were downcast as he looked away. "You shouldn't be here. Father would be angry if he found out you followed me. I don't think he even wanted me to go."_

"_But Daddy'd understand. I know he would," Tanga insisted. "He knows we're inseparable."_

"_Not this time. You have to promise me you'll go back, Tanga. What if Frieza finds you here? I don't think he likes you much."_

"_I don't like him either. He's ugly," she sneered, wrinkling up her nose. "And I even like purple!" Suddenly, the ship quaked for a moment causing both children to get to their feet and Tanga immediately latched onto Vegeta's leg tightly. "What was that?" she whispered._

"_I don't know. It felt like something was blown up. Something big."_

"_Where are we anyway? We've been up here for hours," she whined._

"_I don't know. Frieza ordered his men to put me here to wait before sending me on a mission. I'm supposed to be leaving for that soon."_

"_Can I come with you?"_

"_No, Tanga, it'll be dangerous."_

"_Then why are you going?"_

"_Because I have to. I want you to promise me you'll stay here and wait for me to come back, do you promise?"_

"_I promise, Veggie. I'll wait."_

Tessa blinked back at the memory and felt even more determined to catch the stupid monkey. As she passed the Kai and Melon she noticed that their heads were bent together in discussion. She gritted her teeth figuring it was about her 'episode' and took off even faster.

* * *

It had been hours since Melon watched King Kai go into what seemed like a deep trance as he attempted to speak to Piccolo. He turned to watch in the direction he expected Tessa to come in and after she ran past him she came to an abrupt stop as the monkey continue to run in its straight path.

He watched her curiously as she turned and ran back the way she'd come and in a few moments he heard Bubbles give a short shriek and come back running. Tessa chased it back to in front of him again and turned and ran a path perpendicular to the one she had been running and he heard another shriek and then a bout of giggling high pitched laughter. She came back around holding the shrieking monkey in her arms like a baby and grinning wildly.

As King Kai awoke from his mental conference, Tessa allowed the monkey to slip to the ground but kept a firm grip on its paw like a small child. "As a student of Piccolo's I'm surprised it took you this long. But it does explain your lack of a sense of humor," he commented and Tessa turned to glare at Melon who only smirked softly.

"Why'd you tell him that?" she hissed elbowing him in the ribs as they followed King Kai back to the house.

"He wanted to know how much training you'd received so far. He's impressed," Melon whispered keeping an eye on King Kai's back. "Take that as a compliment."

Tessa just blinked up at him in surprise. "B-but he just insulted me—again!" Melon just shook his head chuckling at her reaction.

* * *

Tessa was ravenous and surprised even herself. She had by now begun to eat twice as much as when she originally got here. King Kai had been right, training was increasing her appetite. As she ate, she couldn't help but think about what her new task would be. King Kai still hadn't told her but she had no doubt in her mind that she would be able to complete it. She was the last to finish eating, and King Kai had gone back outside again to return to his telepathic contact with Piccolo and Melon sat at the table watching the Saiyan girl put away more food than he could imagine. He was certain she'd eaten more than her body weight.

She stretched before standing and began gathering the dishes. She dutifully washed them, this time without breaking any as she was fully acclimated to the different gravity. Melon stood himself and wordlessly joined her at the sink. As he reached past her to grab a towel, he placed a hand on the small of her back to steady himself and Tessa stiffened slightly as she gazed over at him. "You don't need to help," she said blinking.

"What else am I going to do?" he replied shrugging. His touch was gone then as he began to pick up the dishes and dry them, remaining in his relative mute state.

Tessa sighed as she plunged her hands back down into the soapy water fishing out the next plate as she wiped it with the dishcloth. She had been afraid of this happening after she'd woken up to find him there after her nightmare. Now he looked at her differently, he looked at her like he was scared.

At last they finished the dishes, and Tessa returned down the hall to sleep before attempting another task. She paused and looked back at the demon as he hovered in the doorway to outside gazing out on the Kai. "Melon…" she hissed. He looked back at her and she waved for him to follow her. "I don't think he wants to be bothered."

Melon turned and looked back at the Kai before reluctantly following her. He'd wanted to see if he'd found anything out from Piccolo. He was afraid that Otherworld was beginning to have adverse effects on the girl and wanted some kind of reassurement that her dreams had been just as vivid while training for the Namekian.

Tessa went into the room and slid back under the blanket wearily. She lowered the blanket slightly as she peered out to watch the blonde curiously as he sat against the wall and bowed his head to sleep. Once she was certain he was sleeping, she sat up and picked up the blanket and wrapped it around his shoulders tucking it around him gently. He awoke with a start, and gazed up at her with those brilliant blue eyes and she melted. She sat down next to him and rested her head on his shoulder with a sigh. As she closed her eyes to nod off, he wrapped the blanket around her shoulders as well.

* * *

When Tessa awoke, she found that she was alone and quickly scrambled to her feet and out of the house. King Kai was waiting outside with Bubbles, an enormous mallet, and what looked like a giant cricket. Melon stood nearby gazing off into the distance, staring at the yellow clouds that surrounded Snake Way.

"Okay, I'm not sure I like the way this is looking."

Melon turned to glance her way with a quiet smile as she continued to walk towards King Kai. "All you have to do is hit Gregory on the head with this mallet." He gave it a small toss and Tessa caught it but nearly collapsed to her knees trying to keep her grip on it.

"Why so…heavy?" She groaned as she straightened back up again cradling the large head of the mallet in her arms. It took one glance at King Kai before she realized that swinging this mallet around was going to be the real challenge. With a heave she lifted the head so it balanced on her shoulder but the weight immediately threw off her center of balance. She toppled over backwards. "Uhh…"

"I got you." Before she hit the ground she found herself gazing up at the demon's face again.

"I'm fine."

"Sure you are. You just needed a lift." He pushed her back up to her feet and she growled as she took a staggering step towards the giant grasshopper. It took its cue and disappeared before she was able to take a second step.

_This is going to be a long day._

Melon sat down leaning back against the rock again to watch Tessa swing the enormous mallet with a lot of trouble. Each swing caused her to stagger in its direction, as it was obvious that the weight of the mallet was controlling her and not the other way around.

"She's doing extremely well, considering."

Melon turned to gaze up at the Kai who was standing only a few paces away. "Considering what?" he asked innocently.

"That she's not used to her home planet's gravity, and that she's using the heaviest mallet I have. Goku was the last to use that one." Melon smirked to himself as he thought about the information. Tessa basically had to go back to what she could do as a five year old in order to up the strength she should have. _What happens once she does? I've already seen the phasing stage for a Super Saiyan. She's already incredibly strong._

He couldn't help but stare after her as she made each pass. Her dark eyes glaring darkly after the grasshopper and looking quite wild with her flame red hair standing on end. She looked truly Saiyan.

At long last, she came to a stop and set the mallet down and leaned on the handle with her chin resting on her folded arms. She looked extremely casual as she crossed one leg in front of the other. "I don't know about you two guys, but I'm famished." She patted her stomach and laughed as her eyes twinkled. _A truly Saiyan appetite._ _Maybe this is bringing out the best in her._

An hour, and three roasted turkeys later, Tessa was back to chasing the cricket around the small planet. She was no longer so ungainly with the mallet and he guessed that this wouldn't continue much longer. When she came to pass again, she paused and turned to run at a nearby tree. She climbed up quickly so that she could no longer be seen through the leafy branches. When Gregory came back around he seemed oblivious to the fact that his chaser had not followed and as he passed beneath the tree, Tessa dropped down quickly and swiftly tapped the cricket on the head with the mallet. She dropped the mallet and patted the cricket on the head as she dropped to her knees. She looked like a little girl who'd just found a lost puppy as she smiled brilliantly at the bug, her eyes closed and her head tilted.

"Well, King Kai, do you have any other tasks?" she asked as she stood up, picking up the mallet again and brought it back to the Kai and handed it to him.

"No, tomorrow we'll begin your training." Tessa smiled before turning back to look at Melon and winked.

"What do you think, Melon?"

"You're looking hot." She laughed as she grabbed his hand and pulled him to his feet.

"Am I?"

"I meant…you're on fire…err…doing well." He stumbled trying to find the appropriate words but they seemed to fail him.

She pouted, playfully resting her fists on her hips. "What, you're only commenting on my skills?"

Melon sighed inwardly, as he wrapped his arm around her shoulders and gently rubbed her arm. _It wouldn't do me any good to do otherwise._ He was frustrated with the inexplicable desire to be near her—all the time. But there was no way that he could, not with the curse, at least not the way that he wanted. It was becoming harder and harder to remain even the slightest bit aloof and he felt as if he'd failed to keep that up longer than five minutes. He'd heard of people melting in the hands of their love, but he'd never believed it. Now he found himself turning to complete goo every time that he so much as looked at her and with that, all of his resolve to keep his distance would just disappear. He could see that this was turning into a sick and twisted fairy tale, the princess and the demon. It just couldn't have a happy ending. There was no kissing the demon and turning him into the handsome prince.


	9. Chapter 9: Understanding the Spirit

**Disclaimer: I have never been to the Otherworld, but know that someday I will get the chance to see it for myself.**

**Chapter 9 – Understanding the Spirit**

Tessa fell asleep fitfully tossing and turning. She couldn't help but feel that she was in a losing battle. Sure, her training was going well, extremely well, but no matter how hard she tried, she couldn't get any closer to the demon. They'd been staying with King Kai for what felt like months, although it was hard to tell in Otherworld, especially when things fell into a rhythm like hers. Every day she would get up, train by either sparring against Melon or completing some seemingly inane task for King Kai, eat, and sleep once more. She couldn't complain though because she knew she was getting much stronger and faster. By the Kais how fast she could move now despite the increase in gravity. But as for the amount of time that had passed, Melon kept insisting that time was irrelelvent but she had a feeling he was simply trying to protect her from the idea that she was never going to go back to the Earth she knew. That if she did return, it would have moved on without her.

What upset her more than that idea was the fact that she could sense that there was always something more Melon wanted to say but never had the courage to do so. No matter how tongue twisted he would get, she could always see through it to the clarity of his thoughts that were barely shielded. "Curse you for teaching me to see into your head," she muttered as she flipped back to her other side and slammed her eyes shut to try and bring on sleep. _Do I really want to sleep? I'm going to have another nightmare of a memory. I just know it._

_Hush, you'll sleep just fine._ Her eyes shot open to see pale blue ones staring back at her.

"What are you doing?" she hissed at Melon as he slowly lowered himself to lie next to her.

He propped his head up with his elbow as he gazed down at her smiling gently. "Making sure you don't have any nightmares without someone to watch out for you." He brushed aside the stray hairs from her face and she closed her eyes again. _Goodnight beautiful._

_Goodnight handsome._ Melon was slightly startled to hear her bubbling voice in his head. Maybe it had been a mistake to teach her even the most simple of mind tricks. She was able to take even the smallest of tricks and fine tune it into a talent that seemed natural.

_

* * *

_

"Tanga!" The small girl turned at hearing her name and grinned as she raced across the room and into the burly Saiyan king's arms. She was barely three years old, and practically disappeared in his arms.

_"Daddy!" She buried her head into her father's chest as she hugged him. He scooped her up and gently tossed her into the air catching her again as she squealed happily. When he caught her again, she threw her arms around his neck. _

_When she looked up, she giggled as she gently pulled on the dark beard. He smiled as he rubbed it against her cheek and she giggled harder as she gushed, "Why is it so scratchy?"_

_"So I can tickle my princess." He sat down on his throne with her on his lap and she sat bouncing on his knee. She clapped and giggled to her mother who sat next to them._

_When she saw Vegeta across the room she waved. "Veggie!" The young boy smirked as he crossed the room and pulled himself up onto the king's lap as well. The king ran his hands through their equally wild hair and smiled down at them._

"_Daddy, can I train with Veggie? I want to be big and strong like him!"_

"_No, my princess," King Vegeta said shaking his head in earnest. "It is not your destiny to fight." His eyes betrayed him though as he looked down at the girl. But Tanga was too young to recognize the look._

_"Your highness!" Their father growled as he looked up from the pair to the entrance to the throne room. "One of the warriors says that he needs to speak to you about the kingdom's safety." One of the announcers stood bowing there in the doorway timidly._

_"Who is it?" King Vegeta growled. Tanga obliviously kicked her feet watching the short purple tunic flare slightly. Her brother glared at her and she stopped crossing her arms over her chest and pouting._

_"It's Bardock." Their father waved his hand for him to be sent in and the announcer disappeared for a moment before returning with a dark, tall Saiyan man. "Your highness, Bardock, class three warrior of the Cogny platoon."_

_The warrior dropped to one knee upon entering the room and Tanga gazed at him curiously. He had dark spiky hair and equally dark eyes that were typical of Saiyans. However, he was bleeding and looked worse for wear. "My lord, you must believe what I have to tell you."_

_"Speak man. I don't have time to waste."_

_"Frieza cannot be trusted. He will not continue to use our people but will turn against us. He recognizes us as a threat." Tanga watched as her brother slid down from their father's lap to stand next to him._

_"We are no threat to Frieza. Simply a proud people." Tanga found herself being picked up and set down next to her brother as her father stood. Vegeta grabbed her hand and pulled her to the side as their father took a few steps forward._

_"I know that, my lord, as do you. But he will destroy us. First the warriors, then the women and children." Tanga's eyes went wide as the warrior's gaze fell on her and her brother. Her lower lip began to tremble as she whimpered. Vegeta slapped a hand over her mouth and when she turned to look back at him he shook his head violently._

_"How do you know all this?" Bardock looked back down at the ground and sadly shook his head. "If you cannot tell me such vital information, then why have you insisted upon such urgency?" her father asked angrily._

_Bardock stood and turned to leave and once he reached the doorway he turned to look back at the royal family. "Just know that it is your children that shall suffer the most."_

_Tanga watched as her father's face twisted into an angry scowl. "OUT! I will hear no more of this!" Tanga began crying almost immediately and through misty eyes she could see her mother trying to remain calm as she wiped away a single tear. Her brother wore the same scowl as their father as he gently squeezed his sister's shoulders._

* * *

Melon propped his head up on his hand as he lay on his side watching Tessa sleep fitfully. He wasn't sure if he should wake her or not as tears slowly leaked from her eyes and down her cheeks. _No, I won't. Not unless she looks like she might hurt herself like before. _He cursed himself as he reached over and brushed away the tears, careful not to disturb her. _I can't fall for her, but I am. I shouldn't be around her either, but I would give my life for her._

Melon sighed as she slowly began to awake still sobbing softly. Before he could react, she had latched onto the front of his shirt with tight fists as she buried her face into his chest. His shirt quickly became damp the longer she clung to him and he rested a hand on her shoulder before softly whispering in her ear, "Shh…it's alright."

"You promised…" she hiccupped as he continued to run his fingers through her hair in what he hoped was a soothing motion.

"I'm sorry…I shouldn't have." She continued to weep silently and eventually turned her head to look up at him. From this close it was easy for him to see that her eyes were not a true black. The larger than average pupils nearly blended into the dark brown irisis that sparkled under the sheen of tears not yet fallen. "Want to tell me about it?" he asked brushing a thumb beneath one eye to wipe away the tracks of her tears and she leaned her head into his hand as she closed her eyes again.

When she reopened her eyes, her gaze had shifted to the side, unable to make eye contact with him. Whatever contentment had been on her face a moment ago slipped away as the memory came back nearly full force to haunt her and she nodded. "Veggie and I were sitting with our parents when a warrior came in and told my father to be careful of Frieza," she said, somehow her voice hardly afflicted with the emotions that raged on her face. It came out soft and sad, but that was all. "The warrior's name was Bardock, but he couldn't explain how he knew but said that Veggie and I would be the ones to suffer the most. I think he was right." And suddenly, there was a soft whine to her voice. No longer was Melon looking down at the warrior, but the five year old girl. Her eyes were large and glassy, her expression almost pleading. Pleading for what, Melon couldn't know and even if he did, he doubted he'd be able to do anything about it. "Frieza killed everyone that meant anything to me, forced my brother to become a murderer, and…and…separated me from what little I had left."

"You just have to believe that you were fated for something better." Melon stood slowly and helped pull her up as well. "Think you can do that?"

"Yeah." He wrapped his arms around her in the tightest bear hug he could manage. It felt as if he would crush her ribs but after a few moments he could feel her tiny chest reverberating against his own as she began to chuckle. "Is that the best you've got?" He grinned as he hugged her even tighter and picked her up off her feet, swinging her in a wide circle. Once Tessa regained her footing, she patted his cheek softly and smiled prettily. It almost masked over the glassy and red appearance of her eyes. "I needed a good laugh. Thanks."

"Anytime." Before he could protest, she'd slipped out of his arms and out of the room eager to start her training for the day. Eager to hide away her embarrassment of openly crying yet again was more like it though. He sighed as he dropped back to the ground with a thud, one arm resting over a crooked knee. "So close, and yet so far away," he breathed, closing his eyes and did his best to conjure up the image of her resting her cheek in his hand again.

"But not far enough not to hear." Tessa giggled as she gazed back around the doorway with a knowing smile.

Melon's head snapped up and he could feel the blood rushing to his cheeks as he met her gaze. She turned again, whistling a tune to herself as Melon smacked himself on the forehead. _Stupid, stupid, stupid, _he thought with each smack. He couldn't allow himself to get this close to her. He'd only end up hurting her in the end. Or worse, what if she was the one to hurt him? He didn't think he'd be able to bear it if he continued to get this attached to her. Maybe it would be best for both of them if he parted ways with her sooner rather than later.

Meanwhile, Tessa had walked outside still smirking to find herself gazing upon a long line of giant ice cubes. "Are you gonna make the universe's largest martini?" she asked gazing over at the Kai who simply smiled.

"No, this is your next task in training. I want you to destroy each of these as quickly as you can." Tessa walked up to the closest one and calmly walked around it in a slow circle. She made a great show of crouching down and gazing through it, making a funny face at Melon who had now come out.

"Piece of cake." She stepped back, balling her hands into fists at her side and with a snap of her wrists she opened the fists to reveal two large balls of energy. She brought her hands together at her side and once the two balls had become one massive ball of energy, she shoved her hands forward with a great ha, as the blast shattered the first ice cube and continued to blast through each cube in turn. She turned around and when the energy had gone through the last of the cubes and was heading directly at her, she caught it in her hands and slowly forced them together with her eyes closed. As her hands moved closer together the energy ball condensed and eventually disappeared upon being reabsorbed. "Like I said, 'cake'."

King Kai stood gaping as he stared at the melting ice that was forming puddles all around. "But...you...that's not how you were supposed to do it!" he shouted frustrated.

Melon collapsed to the ground laughing as Tessa shrugged her shoulders and smiled. "But I thought the simplest solution, is often the best solution."

The Kai was still in shock as he frowned and when he finally came to look at Tessa herself she was grinning wildly. "Yes, you were most definitely trained by Piccolo," he sighed.

Tessa smirked as she folded her hands behind her head. After a second thought, she rushed the Kai, throwing her arms around his neck and planted a kiss on his cheek. "I knew you'd finally come around to like me," she giggled. The Kai just pushed her away trying to keep a straight face himself and Tessa turned to glance back at Melon surprised to see that he had straightened up slightly and that his smile now struck her as false. _What's wrong?_

_Nothing._ Tessa continued smiling on the outside, but inside she was frowning in confusion because she could sense his jealousy over something. But she couldn't figure out why he would be jealous of her training. Had he not had every chance to request the training as well? And it wasn't as if he wasn't benefiting some himself as it seemed more often than not her training involved sparring with him. And King Kai did not hold back from criticizing Melon's techniques as well as her own.

* * *

Tessa stood silently gathering all of her own energy into a single great force above her head. "Ok, now what?" she hissed as she could begin to feel the strain on her body.

"You need to ask every living being on this planet for a small piece of their energy. You'll be even stronger when you're using more than just your own power."

"Right." She closed her eyes in concentration as she tried to focus on broadcasting her thoughts. It felt awkward for she'd never tried to do anything like it. _Ok, I feel really silly, but can I get everyone's attention? Grass, trees, King Kai, Bubbles, Gregory, Melon, can I borrow some energy?_

For a short while she felt the energy ball growing above her head and when she opened her eyes to see for herself, small beads of energy were coming from everywhere and were being sucked into her own ball of energy. _It's so pretty… _She sighed shaking her head of the silly thought as she had to keep focusing all of her attention on keeping all of the energy in check as it continued doubling in size. She could feel King Kai and his pets' energy the most since they were sentient and not just dumb plants. As she continued drawing in more energy she growled internally when she noticed the lack of Melon's. _Something you want to tell me?_ she shot his way in hopefully what was a private mental conversation.

_Nope._

_Bullshit. Come on, I need a little help._ She closed her eyes again as she began to feel her grasp on the energy slip. _Please, I'm asking you nicely. _She realized that by splitting her attention to talk to him she was about to loose her grasp on the spirit bomb but at this point, she too agitated with his refusal to care.

_I can't, I'm sorry._

_Why? Why not?_

_You wouldn't understand. At least not yet. You just don't remember enough yet to understand how...how this would affect us...how it would hurt you in the end._

_Just by giving me a little energy?_ Tessa collapsed to her knees as her grip on the vast amount of energy continued to slip.

_Just by giving a small piece of myself._ The energy dissipated as she passed out and collapsed into the waiting arms of the demon. "I'm sorry, babe, I just couldn't. I think your family would want better for you."

_

* * *

_

Tanga clung to her mother's robes peeking out from behind at the ceremony that was taking place before them. She leaned out slightly and caught her brother's tail and gave it a sharp tug. "What, Girl?" She pointed nervously at the Saiyan lord and female warrior that were the center of attention. "Haven't you ever seen a joining ceremony?" She silently shook her head as Vegeta grabbed her hand and pulled her to his side. "Then watch carefully," he hissed into her ear.

_She was awestruck as she watched the two other Saiyans holding hands with one another as they spoke softly to one another of their vows to forever take care of one another and to never stray. She danced excitedly from one foot to the other as each created a small ball of energy in one hand, transferring it to the other who then reabsorbed it. _

_If she'd been amazed by the energy transfer, she was in shock at what happened next. As each stood calmly, an artisan drew an image on the shoulder of each. She stood on tiptoe and strained her neck to see the picture better and finally saw that it was a simple scarlet circle with a navy 'p' inside._

_The lord then wrapped his tail around the woman's waist possessively as they left with his arm also wrapped around her shoulders. The woman also had her tail wrapped around the lord's waist in comfortable silence._

_"Now what happens?" she asked silently as she gripped her brother's hand tighter._

_"They're lifemates." Her mouth formed a small 'o' as she gazed up at him._

_"You're so smart." He smirked as they were led away by their parents back to the palace where a great feast was being prepared. _

_Once inside she dashed off to run in circles with several other children who belonged to the lords as the adults gathered around several long black oaken tables. The first one had her parents seated at one end and at the far end was the newly 'joined' couple. _

_Most of the children were showing off their energy manipulation by creating tiny glimmers of energy just large enough to feel like static shock. Others tried to say they could fly as they jumped as high as they could into the air. Tanga giggled as she mocked one boy as he hopped and hopped. "I can do that, too!" She bounced around as several children joined the banter._

_"Firenz-kun, she's as good as you and she's only three and hasn't had a speck of training!" one of the oldest teased._

_One of the boys slightly younger than Vegeta sauntered up to her with a small rock in his hand. "Tanga-denka, I hope that someday you'll consider being my lifemate." He smiled at her and she couldn't help but smile back as he placed the stone into her hand. It was oval shaped and he'd scrawled the letter 'z' on it._

_"What's this?" she asked as she turned the stone over and over in her hands._

_"The crest of my family, the house of Zorn-tono, and a promise to be at your side for always."_

_"What are you doing Zorn-kun?" Vegeta was immediately standing behind her and before she could protest he had her hand in his and was prying it open to reveal the stone. _

_"Vegeta-heika, I was giving Denka a gift." Vegeta examined the stone for himself before answering._

_"A gift she will not be accepting." Vegeta pulled her behind him as he forced the stone back into the other boy's hand. When he turned around to look at her she was pouting as she crossed her arms over her tiny chest._

_"It was nice."_

_"Yes, very nice, but not a gift without a catch." He turned to walk away as he headed towards the feasting adults._

_"Ketch?" she said as she raced to follow him._

_"When a person gives you something but wants something in return."_

_"What did he want?"_

_"Something you're too young to understand."_

_"When will I be old enough?"_

_"Someday, but not today."_

_"What's our cur-est?" she asked her tongue fumbling over the word. Vegeta came to a stop before glancing back at her. She cocked her head to the side in curiosity as she watched him crouch and carefully trace in the dirt with his finger sketching a spread of three arrows being fired upward from a bow._

_"That's our crest. And if I have anything to do with it, it will be your only crest." She smiled as she took advantage of his stooped position and hopped onto his back, hugging his neck._

_"I love you, Veggie."_

_"Knock it off. You're embarrassing," he groaned as she giggled and had him carry her around._

* * *

Tessa awoke with a gasp for air as she pushed herself up. She was back in the small bedroom and sleeping on the mat. She brushed the blanket away from herself as she tried to remember how she'd gotten there. Her breath continued to come heavily as she attempted to calm herself back down.

"It's just a guess, but you didn't sleep well." She gazed up at the demon who was leaning against the door frame with his arms crossed.

"No, people usually don't when they've been unconscious." She hugged her knees up to her chest as she stared up at him.

"I'm sorry about that."

"Sure you are," she snapped feeling irritable with him still for his refusal to give her energy for the Spirit Bomb. She lowered her gaze as her brows furrowed with frustration but the longer she sat there in silence the more her dream danced to the forefront of her thoughts. Suddenly, her expression shifted from anger to that of confusion. _My dreams have always been in English before, but this time it was as if parts of it remained in Saiyan for some reason. That's never happened before. Am I remembering the language now? Have I always remembered a little and my subconscious just translates in my dreams?_ After a few more moments of thought she reaised her gaze to look back up at him again to see that he'd been watching her intently the entire time. "You did trigger a memory."

He pushed himself away from the door as he squatted down in front of her in order for them to come face to face. "What kind of memory."

"Guess," she said playfully as she slowly traced the crest of King Vegeta into her blanket.

Melon watched her carefully as she continued to trace the same pattern over and over. "I'm not good at these games," he deadpanned.

"Neither am I. I saw a joining ceremony of one of the lords and his lifemate. They were actually tattooed, in public…" her brows furrowing in her confusion. Her earthly raising had certainly tainted her feelings on that subject. Otherwise she doubted it would have struck her as that strange. She remembered seeing the tattoos on her parents in other dreams she just never remembered the significance of them until now. All the while, her childish self had never questioned why her parents were branded but had simply accepted that as the norm.

"The tattoo was his crest?" Melon prodded and Tessa nodded as she began tracing the crest she'd seen on the lord's shoulder.

"Uh-huh."

"Do you remember anything else?"

"Princess Tanga almost promised to marry a shmuck named Zorn. Can you believe that?" She began tracing the last crest, the rock she'd almost accepted in childish wonderment.

"Your real name is Tanga?" Melon asked. It was now the second time she'd used that name and he was curious as to whether or not it had connected yet for her.

"Yeah, I guess it is." She stopped to gaze up at him. "Princess Tanga, she breathed and after another moment corrected herself, "Tanga-denka." He took her hands and gently pulled her to her feet and she instantly threw her arms around his neck. "I still don't understand why you wouldn't help me yesterday. I'm sorry if I did something to upset you."

Melon went rigid under her as he slowly put his hands on her shoulders and pulled her away. "No, I don't think that's possible. It's just, you hardly remember anything about Saiyans, and I feel as though I have the upper hand because I've spent so much time among them. You're young and impatient; a downfall for you now because you're too anxious to believe that you know you're in love." Tessa opened her mouth to protest but knew better. Had she not been looking forward to every word that poured from his mouth lately? "Saiyans are territorial so they only fall once, Tess. You saw a joining ceremony so you'll understand better. The exchange of vows is simply a vocal promise that others can witness and hear. The tattoos are simply visual proof that they are taken. And in most cases, the exchange of energy is simply ceremonial so that it is also witnessed. It's that exchange that truly connects them mind, body and soul. It's likely that they've traded energy before in private so that's why I was afraid to give you my energy."

"You were afraid of being joined to me?" She looked up at him pouting as though he'd just insulted her.

"I already am." He turned away from her as he rubbed the back of his head. "I didn't know you were Saiyan when I stole your energy. To be honest, I didn't think stealing energy would work, but you never fought me. In fact, you practically gave it to me each and every time." Tessa moved around the side of him and linked her arm through his.

"I guess I saw some good in you and believed that you would never hurt me in the end. And you haven't."

"But you're still a piece of me." He held his hand for her to see as a ball of green glowing energy formed and spun in his hand. "That's yours."

Tessa turned her gaze from the spinning ball of energy to Melon. "How do I know that's not yours?" He nodded as he held out his other hand and a fiery red ball of energy was created. "Oh."

"As long as I have the tiniest sliver of your energy, I will always take care of you." The energy disappeared and Tessa squeezed his arm as he then pulled her to him in a hug. "I can live with being joined to you, but I fear that if it's completed, you won't be happy with the end results."

Tessa's eyes widened at the statement but he couldn't see it as her face was buried into his chest, her long hair shielding her face even from the peripheries. "Let me be the judge of that," she said pulling her head back to meet his gaze.

He smiled before shaking his head. "No. Don't be offended, but you're still just a girl."

She punched him hard on the chest causing him to laugh despite the pain searing through him. "I AM NOT! I'm tougher than you are."

"That may be, but I've got several millennia of maturity on you," he said laughing as she growled and roughly pulled away from him with her arms crossed. He rubbed his chest where she'd hit him, and groaned. The laughter had really done him in, especially since he was beginning to think she'd broken a rib, even if by accident.

"Boys are such wimps," she sneered.

He looked up to glare at her but smiled when he saw she was grinning. "Me? A wimp...you only think that because you're a hundred times stronger." She gave him a funny look as if she couldn't decide if he was being sarcastic or not. "Seriously, you're probably a hundred times stronger than me." He turned to leave but realized she wasn't following and turned back to see her rubbing her butt. "What are you doing?!" he asked forcing himself not to start laughing at her again. He wasn't exactly mentally prepared enough for a fresh wave of pain.

"I'm sorry but it itches like mad. You mind?" She glanced away blushing hard but continued to scratch. Suddenly she screeched and jumped into the air.

"Now what? Find a tick?" Melon rolled his eyes as she clasped both hands over the area right below the small of her back.

"N-No. There's a bump. A big hairy bump!"

"Let me see." He walked towards her figuring he'd call her bluff but she backed up to the wall.

"No, you'll laugh at me."

"I practically already am," he said smirking as she finally nodded.

She pulled the tunic up to her waist and knotted it so it stayed as she carefully rolled down the fitted pants. When she finally turned around he was able to see that she hadn't been kidding. There in plain sight was a decently sized lump. It was covered in red fur that matched in color the hair standing up on top of her head and he started laughing. "I knew I couldn't trust you." Her head whipped around to look back over her shoulder but she still couldn't see for herself.

"No, no, it's just funny. You're re-growing your tail," he said matter-of-factly and smiled recognizing the ancient trait of the Saiyans. If only she'd regrown it sooner he might have recognized her for what she was before it'd been too late.

"What?!" She spun around in wild circles trying desperately to see for herself. Melon gave up trying not to and fell to the ground laughing as he slapped his knees. His ribs ached but he couldn't care less at the moment. "Knock it off, or I'll knock off your block!" she roared as she came to a stop.

"Like I said before, you're still a kid. So you're re-growing your tail," he said pounding his chest as he tried to regain control over his convulsing laughter. The action only sharpened the pain but it was enough to get his laughter to cut short.

"But after ten years?" she gasped as she collapsed next to him and leaned back on her elbows.

"Did you used to eat like this either?" He propped himself up so that he was back on his hands and level with her.

"Well, no."

"It's because you're training again. You're using your natural Saiyan abilities, so voila, you're eating like a horse and growing a tail." He stood up and pulled her up to her feet again as well before burying his hands into his pockets.

"Wow, when you put it like that, who wouldn't want to be an alien?" she sneered as she turned to face him. Her sneer faded though as she felt his mind in turmoil. "What's wrong?" It came out barely as a whisper as she realized what he was thinking.

"Nothing," he said with a quick shrug of his shoulders before walking away.

_I wish he would quit finishing conversations this way._ She reluctantly followed him outside to finish training to learn the spirit bomb.

* * *

Tessa stood outside and quietly brushed the invisible particles of dirt off the front of the purple training tunic as she tried to focus her mind on the task at hand. This time, she needed to keep the energy under control, and not the other way around. And when she'd done that, she needed to blast the huge block of rock that King Kai was going to toss at her. "Are you ready?"

The Kai's words brought her out of her day dreaming and she nodded as she put her hands high above her head. This time she kept her eyes open and sent out a silent mental message to everything in range with the exclusion of Melon. _If he doesn't want to help, then I won't bother him,_ she thought nastily. Slowly but surely, small beads of energy began to pull from sources all over and collect above her, combining with her own green energy. As the other energy continued to flood toward her, the ball of energy began to take on a pure white color, something unlike anything she'd ever seen in her life. Finally she brought her gaze back down to look at the Kai who had the giant block held high over his own head and seemed to be waiting for her signal. "Go for it." He threw it at her and she couldn't help but smirk to herself. _Batter up!_ She brought her hands down in a swift motion, urging the energy to leave her and it collided with the rock in a shower of energy and rock particles.

"Well, I think you've learnt everything I have to teach you."

"What? No final, Shihan?" she teased. Melon's eyes narrowed as he caught the strange word rolling off Tessa's lips. While the word itself was new, the sound of it wasn't. Some of the lesser educated Saiyans had spoken in similar tones when they communicated amongst themselves. Apparently, Tessa was not just regaining memories of events, but also of her own native tongue and she wasn't even recognizing it as she began to mix it unconsciously with English. He rubbed his jaw thoughtfully wishing that at some point he'd been able to pick up on the Saiyan language but he'd never deemed it worthwhile before now. And she wouldn't be able to teach him either. In fact he'd bet a decent number of years in Hell that she didn't know the meaning of the word she'd used herself.

"I wouldn't be a very good teacher if I didn't have one," King Kai replied seemingly not noticing the title he'd been given and Tessa rubbed nervously at the wrist bands that were causing her to feel the extra gravity.

"Well, bring it. There's nothing I can't do," she said counteracting her mannerisms to the amusement of King Kai.

"I don't doubt that my dear. I want you to catch Bubbles and Gregory again." Tessa's eyebrows shot up but she realized that he wasn't kidding as she accepted the large hammer again. However this time, it seemed light as if she were holding just a normal hammer and like she used one every day.

"On your marks, get set," she teased as Bubbles looked up at her dazed and before she could say 'go' he took off running and so did Gregory. "GO!" She ran after Bubbles and caught him before she'd gotten half way around the planet. She tucked him under her left arm and balanced the hammer back against her shoulder with her right as she took after Gregory. Poor Gregory was just about to pass King Kai, when Tessa ran right up to his front and tapped him gently on top of the head. The giant cricket sat down defeated and Tessa released the monkey as she sat the hammer down to lean on it once more. "Is that a new record, or am I still trying to beat Goku?"

"I'm not going to give you the satisfaction of an answer." Tessa pouted but the Kai didn't budge.

After a few moments of hesitation, Tessa rubbed her hand up and down her arm nervously before finding the courage to bring up the topic that she'd wanted to discuss since she'd gotten here nearly a year ago. "What do you know about the Saiyans? Aside from training Goku?"

King Kai blinked looking at the girl and then frowned. "Unfortunately, not much. I only know of the four that have passed through my quadrant of this galaxy. Planet Vegeta was in a different galaxy altogether."

"Oh," Tessa sighed, her mouth twisting with frustration as she chewed on her lower lip.

"But I must warn you with your tail regrowing that you should never look at the moon. Or else you'll transform into a most fearsome creature."

Tessa's head snapped up at this and her hands instantly flew behind her to cover the small nub of a tail that had started to grow. "Isn't there anything I can do to avoid that?"

King Kai just shrugged. "It won't be a problem here in the Otherworld, only if you return to Earth at some point. I would just suggest not looking at it."

"Right…" She sighed feeling discouraged. If a Kai didn't know much about her family or kind then who would?

King Kai caught sight of her sad expression and tapped his chin thoughtfully. "There is one thing I know about your brother."

"What is it?" she asked forcefully trying to keep her hope at bay.

"When he died, he told Goku of his treatment under Frieza. He wept because of the life that had been taken from him. I believe your brother would be happy to know you lived on far away from that."

Tessa nodded slowly, her gaze shifted down and to the side. Veggie had never cried as long as she'd known him. Not even after they'd found out that their father was dead and the planet had been destroyed. "Thank you," she said softly.

"Here, one more thing before you go." Tessa raised her gaze slightly to see that the Kai was holding out a new purple gi for her to take.

She blinked taking it from him and allowed it to unfold as she held it up. It too had Piccolo's sign on the front but emblazoned on the back was King Kai's symbol now. It was also fitted differently looking more like a dress which wrapped around in order to tie at her side. She quickly stripped off the old tunic and slid on the new gi tying it under her right arm. It was more fitted around her upper body so as to not constrain her movements but loose past her hips, the slit going up the side allowing her complete free movement of her legs. Unlike her old gi, this one fell down below her knee, halfway down her calf. She bowed her head gratefully as she smiled. "Thank you, Shihan, not just for the uniform but for graciously welcoming me to your home and training me. I'm eternally grateful."

"Hmm…you still need to work on your sense of humor though. You're far too stiff and polite. Althought, polite's not such a bad thing," the Kai said cracking a smile.

**

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A/N: Please Read & Review! Pretty please...*lower lip trembles* I'm getting to the 'fuzzy' part of my story so updates will probably start slowing down more and any suggestions will be helpful.


	10. Chapter 10: Here For the one I Love

**Disclaimer: I own neither HELL, nor HFIL. However, just in case I'm sent to either, it's explicitly stated in my will to pack the makings for s'mores in my coffin. Look me up if you join me there. I'll be the one cackling over the fires about how Hell cannot be torture if you insist on having fun anyway.**

OMGWDIWT?: Hopefully my lack of excessive detail will work throughout the story. Sometimes I wonder if that's a problem to just fluff over things and allow it to be assumed that training is boring and tedious and involves lots of punching and kicking. I'm glad you like Melon because he's one of my favorite character types to write. Although it's hard not to cross the line into emo sometimes—especially when he's a demon. A non-emo demon is a rarity I think.

**Chapter 10 – Here For the one I Love**

"Something on your mind, little one?" Melon asked as they began their route back down Snake Way. They'd been instructed by King Kai to ask King Yemma for directions.

"Don't call me that."

"But you are little," he argued.

"Not by Saiyan standards," she growled.

"Your memories are getting better," Melon noted before adding, "Little one."

"I warned you once already," Tessa snapped as she turned to narrow her eyes at Melon who immediately threw his hands up defensively.

"Alright. Ground rules laid out now. What's troubling you?"

"Nothing," she sighed, crossing her arms tightly over her chest. Ever since leaving King Kai's planet she'd been plagued with trying to understand why she'd been sent to the future. Why would she have been fated to be separated by such a vast difference in time? More frustrating though was why until recently she'd had no memory whatsoever of her own past. From the sounds of it, her past had been far less traumatizing than what her brother had been forced to live through the rest of his life. Why had she been granted the bliss of amnesia?

"You can't lie to me."

She turned narrowing her eyes at him again and he forced a grim smile before wrapping an arm around her shoulders. She primly removed it before quickening her pace. "I just can't figure out why all of a sudden I'm stronger. I mean, how could I go from being a five year old with super strength to being a five year old who could barely walk and talk?"

"You blocked it all out," he said trailing behind her a few steps.

"But wouldn't my strength remain?"

"You had your tail pulled off," he replied logically with a small shrug of the shoulders.

"But that's not the sole source of my strength. It only makes me turn into a giant monkey or some such nonsense."

"It's not nonsense. It's quite terrifying actually."

Tessa turned to walk backwards at Melon's comment and shook her head at his expression of mock sheer terror. "Okay, whatever," she sighed, "My point is: why did I suddenly gain super human strength at age fifteen?"

"Well, Saiyans have this tendency to become much, much stronger once they are put close to death. If I would have known you were a Saiyan before, trust me, I wouldn't have dreamed of touching you out of fear. I thought you were merely a super human."

"Merely?" Tessa scoffed.

Melon shot her a sideways glance before rolling his eyes. It was amazing how she only ever managed to pick up on the slightest, meaningless details in order to make a big deal out of them. Talk about being able to make a mountain out of a mole hill. "So, what bus did you walk out in front of as a teenager?" Melon teased lightly choosing to ignore her last comment.

"You know what, I think I'd rather stop this conversation," Tessa muttered as she again quickened her pace but Melon jogged to catch up with her.

"I guess that was pushing a button," he offered. "I'm sorry. I didn't mean to make you feel like I'm pumping you for info."

"It's ok. My adoptive father was abusive," she said without looking up. Melon suddenly came to a grinding halt and stared at her as she continued walking ahead a few paces. She finally stopped gazing back at him in surprise and blinked. "What?"

"I just…I'm sorry." A complex of emotions swept across his face too fast for either of them to catalogue before he lowered his gaze to the brick road.

"Why?"

"Because it's demons like me that are sent to Earth in order to sway humans into evil acts like that. In a way, I feel responsible," Melon said softly. After several long moments of silence he glanced back up again to see that she was more surprised than upset. She took a few tentative steps back towards him, her head tilting so that she could catch a better angle of his face. She was still struggling to make out his facial expressions and at a moment like this she wasn't thinking about using any of her new mind tricks. It just seemed so strange for him to apologize for something he'd had nothing to do with. She didn't even know him back then so it wasn't even like he'd missed the signs or stood by and let it happen. Why should he feel responsible?

"You shouldn't blame yourself," she said finally and he shoved his hands deep into his jeans pocket before he started walking, scuffing his feet along the path. She followed him shaking her head. For once, she really did want a response out of him only to not ever get it. Wasn't it his job to be overly chatty and forthcoming with information? She sighed, hugging herself across the chest, her arms slowly tightening as she remembered the circumstances that had led to her going from the average athletic teen to super-girl. "Nearly every bone in my body was broken," she said aloud, "and I was eating and breathing through tubes for two weeks."

Melon glanced sideways at her surprised that she was still touching the topic of conversation. He hadn't meant to pry into such a painful memory and he certainly hadn't expected her to continue. But continue she did.

"Believe it or not, I wasn't the aggressive type before. I didn't fight back," she said walking beside him. "And when my mom died in a car accident, he took to beating me instead. I took it because I didn't know any better. I didn't know that it shouldn't be that way. I didn't know I was allowed to fight back. One day, I tried to run away, so he got in his truck…" Tessa's voice faded out on her and she choked on the words. She couldn't breathe, she couldn't speak, but she wasn't really crying either. She just couldn't force the words out. It was strange. No one had ever asked her about before with the exception of the police, who after realizing she wouldn't speak on the issue quickly dropped their line of questioning and the case. She had been too scared to tell them the truth. Her adoptive father had already told the police it was a hit and run and she feared that if she contradicted him that he'd do it again, or worse. Even now, knowing that she could more than defend herself against him should the need arise, she found herself paralyzed by fear.

"It's okay. I…I think I get the picture." Tessa nodded and before she could react, Melon had her wrapped in his arms and hugging her tightly. "No one will ever hurt you like that again. No one will even be able to come close."

Tessa had been brought to a stop by his gesture and she stood awkwardly, her arms pinned to her side and her face pressed tightly into his chest. She wasn't entirely sure who the hug was supposed to be comforting more. But the longer she remained in his embrace the more she realized it was helping her at least. She raised her arms doing her best to hug him back around the waist, but her movements were somewhat constrained and at her attempt, he only hugged her tighter. "I'm sure there are other's stronger than me. People like Frieza, no doubt."

"Well, I can't guarantee that there won't be a few of those guys running around the universe. But certainly no one who is supposed to love you or care for you will ever hurt you like that again. I won't allow it."

"I thought you were created to spread darkness," she teased, but it came out muffled against his chest.

"I'm quitting my day job and I'm going to start moonlighting as a do-gooder."

It got a small laugh out of Tessa as she closed her eyes and buried her head into Melon's chest. "Please, don't let me go." Melon sighed as he pressed his face down into her hair before kissing the top of her head gently. "I don't have a family or people to love me. So right now, I need you, because otherwise, I'm all alone. I don't want to be alone anymore, Melon."

His embrace shifted, moving higher up so that it was closer to her shoulders and allowed her to have more freedom of movement for her arms. He glanced down past her head at his gloved hands and sighed. _Unfortunately, my loving you makes me a danger to you, little one. _She was hugging him back now, tightly, and he let out a small oomph as his lungs felt ready to collapse as his ribs pressed in. "Can't breathe," he murmured and she loosened her grip, but didn't release it.

* * *

Tessa walked along Snake Way with her arms folded loosely across her stomach, gazing blankly into the yellow clouds. "Why does the road back seem so much longer?" she whined. Already they'd been walking along Snake Way more than five times longer than it had taken them to get to King Kai's planet in the first place. 'Agitated', 'annoyed', and 'bored' were just words at the top of her alphabetically organized laundry list of complaints at the moment.

"I told you, the road's length is apt to change," Melon said shrugging. "Maybe you're supposed to be mulling something over."

"What? There's nothing more to mull…I've mulled it all before." Melon laughed at her for what sounded like a verb tenses practice and cleared his throat when he recognized her sideways glare. "Don't you know a short cut or anything?" He tapped his chin with a long finger thoughtfully and after a moment took a running start before jumping off the road. Tessa froze as she watched him disappear down through the yellow clouds and then rushed to the spot where he'd disappeared. "Melon! Melon, come back!" She dropped to her hands and knees waiting for something, but all she got was dead silence. "I thought that was a bad idea. I thought I didn't want to fall into Hell and meet Goz and Mez. The least you could have done was say something before jumping," she hissed to the clouds before falling back onto her butt as she sat cross legged on the road, her arms crossed over her chest.

She glanced around to see if Melon had somehow miraculously reappeared to tell her it was just a bad joke but she was alone and with a heavy sigh she stood back up. Stepping up to the edge of the road, she pinched the bridge of her nose and took a deep breathe before jumping as she tucked her knees up to her chest. Her eyes squeezed shut as she passed through the yellow clouds and after several long moments of falling she reopened them to see that she was about to finally come down to ground. Well, not ground so much as some kind of dark red lake.

Her ki flared up as she brought herself to a near halt in the air and shifted over about ten feet so that she landed gently beside the pond. She glanced back over her shoulder to see the pond more closely and realized that little spirits were floating around in it on row boats as if it were nothing worse than a Sunday picnic. Without warning, she was suddenly pushed into the pond and she gasped as she flapped her arms and floundered to find her footing along the slick bottom of the pond. Finally standing she made a leering face at the thick red fluid that dripped slowly from her limbs, face, and hair. "Oh gross! What is this stuff?"

Melon stood at the edge of the pond, his hands planted on his hips laughing heartily at her. "It's exactly what it looks like. Welcome to Hell."

"Is this—Is this blood?!" she shrieked running towards the edge of the pond only for her footing to slip and she nearly face planted back into the liquid. Instead, she caught Melon by the sleeve and the force of her fall dragged both of them into the pond. She recovered somewhat quickly, her hand groping for the small railing that went around the pond as she hauled herself up sputtering and doing her best not to take any of the liquid into her mouth. She leaned over the railing, glancing back over her shoulder to see that Melon was now splashing about trying to regain his footing as well without much luck. He shot her a nasty glare but she just stuck out her tongue in response as she finally crawled out of the pond to sit on the gravel path that went around it. After a few moments she realized that she was sitting in a large shadow and using her hand to shade her eyes gazed up at the two enormous figures before her. "Hi?"

"Looks like we've got someone new to play with," the one said looking to the other as he grinned goofily. He was huge, and blue, with horns coming out of his head. The one he spoke to was about the same except red and he wore glasses. Tessa just blinked up at them noting their identical shirts which read 'HELL' across the front. They both turned their attention back down to her as they grinned.

"Welcome to the Home for Infinite Losers," the red one said grinning wickedly and Tessa furrowed her brows thoughtfully.

"Wouldn't the anagram be H-F-I-L instead of H-E-L-L?"

"It is."

"We wear those shirts on Tuesdays."

"Right. That makes sense. But this _is _Hell, right?" She glanced at each of them. She was getting a little used to their two part system of speaking.

"A part of it."

"Hell's a big place."

Melon finally managed to pull himself out and stood behind Tessa, reaching down to hook his hands under her armpits to lift her back to her feet as she had seemed quite content to sit on the ground, leaning way back to look up at the ogres before her. "We're here for the stairs," Melon said sternly.

"Melon? Didn't you just get out?"

"Yeah. How'd you wind up here again so fast?"

"Goz, Mez, as much as I'd like to waste the time to play games with you two again, I'd rather be on my way."

"But you have to play the games."

"Or else you won't find the stairs."

"Do you really expect me to believe they've just magically moved?" Melon deadpanned crossing his arms over his chest.

"It is Hell."

"Anything's possible."

Melon groaned smacking his hand off his forehead. "I swear if you're just jerking my chain…"

"What games? What do I have to do for you to tell me?" Tessa interrupted and Goz and Mez exchanged excited looks. They then began to play a rapid round of rock, paper, scissors as Melon and Tessa watched on. "What are they doing?" she hissed.

"You'll have to beat both of them in a challenge before they'll tell us. A battle of strength against Goz, and a race of speed against Mez."

"And you beat them?"

"Yeah. Barely. And I did it in my demon form."

Tessa nodded as her gaze became more concentrated. She'd barely beaten him in the tournament. And to be honest, she wasn't sure if she could beat him now in his demon form. Not in a fight without rules such as boundaries. And she doubted that ogres from hell would have any such rules to play by.

Goz won the match against Mez, and he grunted with satisfaction as Mez pouted and stomped off having to wait his turn. "Just remember to save some for me, okay? You never remember to leave them in one piece," Mez bemoaned causing Tessa to swallow hard as she looked up at Goz.

He led her around the pond to where there was a decently sized circle drawn on the ground. Goz stepped inside and started tamping his feet like a sumo wrestler which caused Tessa to cock an eyebrow. _Really? _She glanced to the side to see that Melon had found a park bench and was stretched out on it lazily, his eyes closed and his head leaning back so that the gentle breeze tousled his hair. A corner of her mouth twitched. _Must be nice to just lean back and not have to worry._

In her moment of distraction, she found two huge arms crashing down around her, lifting and pushing her out of the ring. She snapped her full attention back to Goz as she planted her feet against his chest, tucking the knees nearly up to her chin to manage the feat as he had the upper part of her body tightly confined. With a heave, and a flare of her ki, she shoved against him causing him to stumble backwards and with her ki, she was able to maintain her position in the air, just at the border.

Goz frowned as he landed on his back outside of the ring. It'd been a while since he'd found anyone to toy with and to be defeated so easily and so quickly was a vast disappointment. The Kais only knew when someone new would trip and fall his way.

Tessa stood over him gazing down at the clumsy ogre and frowned. It wasn't as though it'd been easy. She'd had to use all of her strength to budge that mountain of muscle and she'd been afraid he'd rip her arms off with the force of their separation. But looking down at him now she felt a strange pity bubble up in her stomach. A similar pity she felt when she talked to Melon and realized that at any moment they could be forced to separate if a Kai didn't like him. Her gaze shifted now to the demon that was still reclined in the bench comfortably, an arm now draped over his eyes and she realized he was asleep. It was strange to see him sleep. He didn't seem to ever sleep. And if he did, he did so when she was too busy to look for him. He too must have assumed this fight would take longer than it had.

Ignoring Goz, she walked over to the bench and knelt down beside it gazing down at his sleeping form from up close. He no longer looked like the Hell-worn demon but just a boy her own age and she smiled at the thought. She had grown used to thinking of Melon as being older than her that it was amusing now to think they really were a similar age. As much fun as it would be to rip the demon from his slumber by any numerous evil ways that came to mind, she decided to let him sleep until she'd gotten the information she needed from Goz and Mez. Maybe then she could use wake up ploy delta to disturb his rest and the thought caused her to grin wickedly for a moment as she stood up and faced Goz again.

"That seemed a little short lived to me, I'm sorry," she said, childish innocence oozing from her voice as she batted her eyelashes at the ogre who was getting back up to his feet.

He grunted rubbing his back where he'd landed on it as he looked down at the small girl. She had certainly taken him by surprise with the amount of strength she'd exhibited. He then smirked as an idea came to him. "You want to leave, right?"

"Of course, I do. I certainly don't want to stay here."

"Follow me then." She followed the ogre around the pond and when he led her up to a giant seesaw she crossed her arms over her chest and glared up at him. He noticed her look and gave her an oafish grin. "You stand on that end, and I'll jump onto this end. You'll be back on Snake Way in no time!"

"I am doing no such thing," she glowered before turning on her heel. "Besides, I don't want back on Snake Way. I want to be at King Yemma's. Where's Mez? Maybe he'll tell me where the stairs are."

"Don't be mad!" the ogre cried out as he ran around her to cut her off. "It's just we don't…"

"…get many people to play with? Not my problem. Maybe people would visit more often if you didn't try to trick them."

He gave her a somewhat thoughtful look that disappeared almost the instant it had appeared before he shrugged his shoulders. "Alright, you won fair and square. I'll go get Mez." He slumped off and Tessa grinned a little seeing that she'd gotten her way. She then glanced back over her shoulder trying to figure out what the hell the ogre thought he was going to do with a giant seesaw. She gave Melon one last glance before jogging after Goz. Maybe wake up ploy gamma would be better. It was such a rare opportunity that she needed to savor it.

* * *

Tessa looked up at Mez expectantly as the ogre sized her up and after a few moments seemed to have come to his conclusion. "You're going to have to catch me. And if I get back here without you having done so, I'll win."

"That's all? I've been chasing a crazy fast monkey for nearly a year now at ten times gravity. Speed is one of my specialites now."

Mez did a good job of masking his concern as he turned and got into a starting block position as if he was going to start a 100-meter dash rather than a marathon. Tessa tilted her head for a moment before mimicking him, setting her right foot back for a good push off. Before she could blink Mez was gone. She took after him as soon as it registered in her brain and as she sprinted onward she realized that her work may be cut out for her after all. Besides, she'd gotten lucky with Goz. What if she wasn't quite so lucky with Mez?

They raced all over HFIL, and Tessa realized that this area must have been Hell-lite because it looked more like a boring resort than what she'd expected Hell to look like. It was also far less than what Melon had described in the very least.

Everytime that she got close to catching up with Mez, he would suddenly find a new burst of energy and take off again as if someone had hit a nitrous boost. She was forced to keep up as best she could. While she wasn't feeling tired, she knew that it was her best hope that perhaps Mez would start to tire towards the end of the race. If he did, then it would give her an opportunity to apply all of her remaining ki into one last burst of speed. So, she paced herself as best she could as they ran along through what vaguely resembled a forest of dead and dying trees.

She could now see Goz standing beneath a large fruit tree on top of a hill. They were reaching the end of the race. It was now or never as she allowed her ki to flare up and took off at top speed. Running up the side of the hill, she made a flying tackle and caught Mez around his left calf, her face pressing into his thigh as he slowed to a jog, the girl clinging to his leg awkwardly. She looked up at him and gave a sheepish smile in response to his absolute shock. She released her grip on his leg and plopped to the ground sitting as she continued to smile. "Gotcha," she said finally breaking the silence as both ogres stared at her.

"What are you?" Mez asked adjusting his glasses.

"Are you a demon?"

"No!" she cried laughing. "I'm a Saiyan."

The ogres exchanged glances before looking back down at her.

"Well, fair is fair."

"We'll show you the stairs."

"Okay, just give me a minute to go get Melon," she said pushing herself up to stand and raced back towards the blood lake to find Melon still fast asleep on his park bench. Tessa sat down on the edge of the bench and smirked down at his sleeping form. She slowly lowered her head down so that their noses were nearly touching and breathed out slowly creating a constant stream of air right across his nose. He twitched in his sleep, swiping at his nose before settling down again. She held her hands over his abdomen hesitantly watching his face to see if he was feigning before she began to mercilessly tickle him.

He bolted up straight, cracking his forehead off hers causing them to both sit back groaning. "What was that for?" he asked rubbing the ruby colored spot on his forehead from where he'd come into contact with the iron skull of the Saiyan girl.

She pressed a single finger to where his head had collided with hers, the pressure causing the skin to whiten again despite the red. Her lips had tightened inquisitively as her gaze was as far up as she physically could trying to see her forehead. She let a small sigh as she lowered her hand and gazed down at him and smiled. "I was waking you up. I didn't think you'd appreciate it if I just left without you. It'd be mean of me to leave you here in Hell."

He blinked at her, surprised by her consideration. He'd already escaped once, it wasn't out of the question for him to manage it a second time. Then again, he hadn't even given it a thought as to whether or not she'd leave with or without him. He had only been concerned with catching a few moments of shut eye. "Thank you."

"Don't thank me yet. We're going right to King Yemma. Who's to say he won't just send you right back?" she asked smiling. She was clearly amused by this idea.

Melon could feel a facial tick forming over his right eye. He'd forgotten that small detail in this grand adventure. What if King Yemma did send him right back? This time, he'd be sent further down into Hell where it would be much more difficult to escape this time.

Tessa laughed at his expression and grabbed his hands pulling him to his feet. "Don't worry. I'm sure it'll work out just fine. You'll see."

* * *

Tessa laughed as she jogged up the stairs and threw her arms around Melon's neck from behind, jumping onto his back for a piggy back ride. Melon was still irritated with Goz and Mez for lying and trying his best not to direct that frustration at Tessa. The stairs had been exactly where they'd been a few years earlier. _Magically moving stairs, bah! _He continued trudging up the stairs despite the added weight. "You're in a good mood."

"Of course I am. Why shouldn't I be?"

"Well, how do I put this? You're dead, Tess."

"True…" she responded slowly. "That reminds me. Why do we have bodies? All those spirits back there were just…spirits."

Melon hooked his arms under her knees and readjusted her weight as he thought. "I've never really questioned it before. But if I had to venture a guess, I'd say that you were meant to fulfill some role."

"What kind of role? Like, become a demon?" she asked and Melon couldn't help but note the shudder that ran down her spine. It reminded him once more of just how unworthy he was to be near her. At some point she would come to her senses about him and he dreaded that day.

"No, not a demon. There is an equivalent to demons in the upperworld. You were probably meant to be one of them. The kais take note of particularly strong individuals and when they die, they usually get some kind of job in the bureaucracy of death. You are nothing short of peculiarly strong."

"So, I'd become an angel? I don't really see myself playing the harp," she said scrunching up her nose. Actually she couldn't see herself wearing white robes and gossamer at all.

"You've never occaisioned to have actually read the bible, have you? Angels are supposed to be God's warriors. But that's just the Judeo-Christian belief's take on Heaven. I believe they're actually called tennin. Supposedly, they're very similar in appearance to the angels described by Christians. But I can't say I've ever been there myself to know."

She hugged his neck loosely as she leaned back slightly and considered it. "I'm still not sure I'm angel material. Isn't there a place for those of us who are neither good, nor bad?"

"It's what you're doing now. But eventually you will be sorted."

"But not until I'm ready, right?"

Melon glanced back over his shoulder to see that Tessa was waiting expectantly for an answer. He didn't even need to question why. They were about to pop up in the office of King Yemma, the sorter himself. "No, not until you decide you're ready. But I assure you, you will go to upperworld. There's not a doubt in my mind as to that."

"Well, I don't want to go without you. Can you get a transfer or something? Stop being a demon and become a tennin instead?"

Melon chuckled at this idea. He couldn't quite picture himself as one of the beautiful tennin. "Tennin are exclusively female, Tess. I'm not sure I'd qualify."

"Oh. That's silly—sexist too," she sighed resting her chin on his shoulder. "We'll think of something. We've got lots of time because I'm not going to be sorted for a long time. I'm not ready to quit living. Hell, I've barely begun."


	11. Chapter 11: The Journey Continues

**Disclaimer: I am no master of the Saiyan language, or the Japanese one at that.**

Tessa now has a Twitter account. This is to make up for my slowing progress in posting new chapters. It's not so much writer's block as my inspirations have all been for parts much later in the story. I'm having trouble focusing my creative energies on the upcoming chapters. Follow her at www .twitter. com/TessellationRey

**Chapter 11 – The Journey Continues**

"Hey! There's a light!" Tessa cried as she raced forward up the stairs and after ascending a little further she collided with a solid surface and nearly came toppling back down. Melon caught her and set her upright again as he stood gazing up at the line of light above their

Tessa followed his gaze and tapped her chin. "Can you jump that high?" she asked.

He looked down at her and popped an eyebrow. "Yes. I carried your heavy ass almost the entire way up these stairs, didn't I? I think I can handle one little jump."

"I was just checking," she sighed rolling her eyes as she planted her hands on her hips. "I wanted to make sure you weren't going to be whining about being left behind or something."

"I do not whine. I bemoan. It's much more dignifying than whining."

"Right. I'll keep that in mind," Tessa chuckled as she allowed her ki to flare slightly before crouching down and jumping up towards the light. Her hands scrabbled to find a hard edge and it was like trying to scale a perfectly smooth cliff. She found the ledge though and hung on tightly, glancing down at Melon before scrabbling up through the tiny crack.

Melon followed quickly and smoothly, more so than her and actually helped her to stand up again on her own two feet. But his gaze did not last on her for long before he turned looking up. Tessa's gaze followed and her jaw dropped noiselessly as she stared at the enormous ogre. He had a massive black beard, large enough for her to call a bed, and enormous horns. His giant face was a ruddy red color and he looked a little shocked at their appearance as he furrowed his giant catebpillar-like brows. He looked like Goz after he'd eaten a dozen of Alice's cookies in Wonderland. "Melon? What are you doing here? I was expecting you to come through the front door a while ago." The voice was booming, and Tessa could feel it reverberating through her rib cage and shaking her voice box even. It felt like she was at a rock concert standing next to the oversized speakers.

"I'm sorry, Sir. I was, uh," Melon hesitated looking back down at Tessa before continuing, "Delayed." Melon rested a hand on the back of his head as he lowered his gaze. There was no good answer as to where and what he'd been doing. Especially when his temporary release had been conditional on his compliance to immediately return should he lose—which he had.

"And who's this girl?" King Yemma said gazing down at Tessa in a fond, fatherly way.

"I'm Tanga-denka," Tessa replied quickly, surprising herself even at the use of her formal title. Something about being in King Yemma's presence made her feel as though the formalities were necessary. It wasn't that he was stern, but he did exude a bit of importance even if it was only his size giving that impression. "I'm the reason Melon-kun didn't return the way he should have. I'm sorry. He's been my guide if you will."

"You've taken up a poor choice in guide," King Yemma commented gazing down at the pair thoughtfully. They were standing on the edge of one of his desk drawers and as he watched, Melon was now helping the girl to move up towards the desktop so that they had more sure footing.

"Oh, I don't think so at all. I couldn't have asked for a better one!" she declared. "He's a very good friend." Her hands still rested on his upper arms from when she'd grabbed him when he'd lifted her by the waist up onto the desktop. Their distant embrace dissolved as Melon stepped back, keeping his gaze lowered upon hearing Tessa's words.

"Is he?" King Yemma said smiling as his gaze zeroed in on the demon whose gaze would not shift from the wood grain of the desk.

Melon dug his foot into the wood, suddenly feeling very self conscious. He was being judged, he knew he was being judged, and he hated feeling judged. Tessa was the only person he knew who didn't judge him. Then again, the only reason she did that he figured was because she forgot to or was too naïve to do so. "I'm trying to be, Sir."

King Yemma chuckled at this and placed his hand on the desk palm up. "Come here, child. I want to get a better look at you." Tessa climbed up into his hand, much as she would climb up over a pile of large boulders. The lines of his hand were like deep crevices and looked as if years of weathering had caused them like ruts in the earth. After tripping over his life line, she sat cross-legged in the center of his hand and he raised her closer to his face. "A Saiyan princess, hm?"

"Yes, Yemma-Heika," she replied meekly. "You could say I'm a little lost in time."

"More than a little," he replied. "The last Saiyan royal who passed before me was twenty-five hundred years ago. He was a lot of trouble." King Yemma's eyes twinkled with memory and he had to suppress a chuckle.

"That would have been my brother, Yemma-Heika," she said raising her gaze a little to meet his. She swallowed wondering if admitting that was the wrong thing to do.

"Vegeta's sister, eh? Melon you pick interesting company to say the least." Melon just nodded as he still refused to look up.

Tessa glanced back over her shoulder at Melon and had to stop from laughing at his meek appearance. It was very unlike him. "You remember my brother?" she asked breaking the silence that had fallen. She gazed back up at King Yemma eagerly and the giant ogre chuckled.

"I do. I can think of only one word to describe him—volatile."

"Volatile?" she echoed trying to process what that meant.

"He still had a lot of fight left in him and wanted to be sent back to finish what he'd started. He wasn't happy to hear that he couldn't." The ogre's face looked drawn tight at this comment before it regained its general softness.

"Oh. That sounds a little like the Veggie-san I remember."

"He also didn't like that I sent him to Upperworld."

"He didn't?" she echoed furrowing her brows in confusion.

"He didn't believe he was worthy. I think he was embarrassed to be honest. He was a very conflicted man caught between the infamous rock and a hard place." King Yemma looked contemplative for a moment before nodding. "Yes, I made my decision on his final actions, not his life. There's a lot that can be said about a man through his final acts."

"Do you think I could see him?" she asked, impossible for her to keep the excitement out of her voice.

Melon snapped to an alert state and King Yemma too gazed down at the girl critically. "I cannot send you to Upperworld unless you're truly ready to go."

Tessa's lips formed a small 'o' as she lowered her gaze. She considered it for a few moments and shook her head slowly in the negative. "I don't think I am," she said without looking up.

Melon let out a barely audible sigh of relief. He could tell thus far that King Yemma wouldn't object to him remaining with Tessa so long as it was her decision. And the thought that she was considering abandoning her training so soon had wrenched him to the horrible realization that he would be lost without her. Not in the sense that he wouldn't know where to go, but that he wouldn't know what to do with himself when he got there. Any existence now without her would feel hollow.

"When you are, you'll know," King Yemma said reassuringly as he lowered her back down to the desktop. She hopped down and Melon caught her under the arms lowering her until her toes touched the wooden surface. She stood in Melon's arms gazing back up at the ogre and smiled appreciatively. "Now, I'm sure that there is somewhere you'd rather go."

"I'd like to keep training. Could you tell me how to reach the other Kais of my galaxy?"

* * *

"Melon-kun, do you think the other Kais will let me train with them?" Tessa asked as she skipped down the road King Yemma had told them to take towards the Kai of the East's planet. Melon was several paces behind her, his attitude much more subdued since having seen King Yemma. She pouted as she glanced back at him and tilted her head as she tried to think of what had been done or said to alter his mood so much.

"Of course, your highness," Melon drawled as he gave her an over exaggerated bow.

Tessa scowled as she walked back towards him, grabbing him by his shoulder and pulling him upright so that he had to look her in the eye. "Hey! Don't call me that!"

"But you are a princess," he countered. Somehow that fact was beginning to bother him more and more lately and he still couldn't put his finger on it. Perhaps it was just inferiority but he was thinking it had more to do with her way of wavering on the subject herself. She seemed to be mostly oblivious to the fact that she was changing, and rapidly at that. Every day that passed she became more aware of her past, starting to use Saiyan words interchangeably with English, and was now even introducing herself by her Saiyan name. He was starting to miss _his_ Tess a little. "Why shouldn't I treat you like one?"

"Because I'm not," she sighed. "She died when I was five. I'm just plain old Tessa now."

Melon narrowed his eyes disbelievingly. Make that flat out denial of the fact. "You can't deny who you are, Tess. You're a Saiyan. That's not changing."

"But I'm no princess!" she said exasperated. "I don't even know how to be one! I barely remember having ever been one to begin with. And besides, I doubt a Saiyan princess is anything like one from Earth."

"Right. That would explain why you're so indignant anytime you're insulted. It would also explain why you've stuck your nose in the air more times than I can count," he grumbled feeling a little defensive. He certainly hadn't signed on for princess-zilla watching. If he wanted that kind of torment he'd go back to Hell and get his tongue forked and his hair set on fire. He could certainly think of more pleasant ways to spend his time. Yet the idea of parting ways with her was equally unbearable.

"So, I'm a little prideful," she muttered.

"Sounds like Saiyan royalty to me," Melon snorted.

Tessa glanced up at him to see that his arms were crossed tightly as he glared down at her and she lowered her head so that she was looking up at him through her eyelashes. "I'm sorry." She didn't like the idea that he was mad at her. It certainly wasn't her goal to make her only friend in the entire universe hate her. All it took was a little anger from him and suddenly she felt like the most insecure girl that ever walked the face of the earth. She liked to see him smile because he always seemed so unprepared for it as if the muscles were atrophied from his time in Hell.

"Ok, that's not so regal of you." His stance eased and his arms loosened as his hands fell to his sides.

As his arms slipped away she reached up placing her hands on his chest as she finally raised her gaze to meet his eyes. "I'm really, really sorry," she repeated emphatically. "I would never do anything to intentionally hurt you. You're my best friend."

Instead of getting a smile, it only got a deeper frown out of him as he gripped her by the elbows. "No, no, no, no, no…" he said shaking his head but didn't step way from her. Which was a mistake on his part in retrospect. "You've got to stop saying things like that. You _are_ a princess. I'm not in the same league, let alone the same stratosphere."

"Please, stop saying that," she begged, her eyes adding emphasis as they glistened with uncried tears. "How can _I _be a princess? I have no home, no family, no riches, no castle, no people…" her voice trailed off as the tears began to slip down her cheeks.

"But you did, once upon a time." Melon could feel his resolve breaking. _Damn it. Damn her and her tears._

"Fairytales aren't real, Melon," she said beginning to shake her head. "There is no happily ever after for me."

"How do you know that?" he asked softening as he slowly encircled his arms around her in a hug. "The end isn't here yet." _Damn, damn, damn. What am I doing?! _Melon felt as if his body had taken over where his mind refused to go and thus he was helpless but to react the way that she needed him to despite the fact that a very loud voice in the back of his mind kept reminding him of how terrible an idea that was. He was going to wind up with her being as attached to him as he was to her. He was being too good. He was going to get himself in trouble.

"The end is past," she sniffed. "Frieza destroyed everything. And when he was done with that, he took away my life too. Princess Tanga's ending is past. She's gone. I'm just what's left," she said burying her head into his chest. It was comforting to think that she wasn't completely alone anymore. All her life, she'd wanted nothing more than to feel as if she belonged somewhere and she felt that way with him.

"Well, what's left looks good to me," Melon said smiling as he hugged her tightly. How had he gone from admonishing her for being too attached to being the one to hug her and hold her? He was supposed to be letting her go, not keeping her so damn close where he'd eventually hurt her. His smile fell with those thoughts as he gazed down at the top of her head. After biting his lower lip for a moment he kissed her hair before resting his head on top of hers. "Someday, you'll see that I'm right, Tess. Someday you'll see that you're still a princess and that can't be changed."

**Sorry about the short chapter. But it's better than nothing and it was also better than fluffing needlessly just to get a word count. Please Read & Review!**


	12. Chapter 12: The Planet of Grand Kai

**So I apologize…a lot for taking so long to post. You see my professors aren't really professors. They're adjuncts. Which means they have real world jobs. Makes them great adjuncts, right? Makes them bad professors. They don't do midterms. Nope. They do three quarter presentation terms. This means that for the past few weeks I have been reading journal articles, writing presentations, doing research and generally all of the worst aspects of masters level student life for every class all at once. Oh, and my course load is ridiculous by grad student standards so they can get us all shipped out the door in one year. Yep. I'm going to probably die of starvation because I might forget to eat in the midst of this. The good news is: I haven't been suffering any writer's block—kind of. In fact, during the more boring lectures, I've been writing. Just not on this current part of the story. Sorry. *hangs head* But! when we get to the next leg of Tessa's journey, the updates will come more timely. Promise!**

**Nesradana: **I really hope you weren't holding your breath, I'd feel terrible if you were. Sorry about the slowness. I promise that the story will pick up in pace in the coming future.

**Chapter 12: The Planet of Grand Kai**

Tessa walked through the gardens of Grand Kai's planet and breathed in deeply the scents of the glorious flowers. This was yet again one of those moments that she was still indescribably elated to be here. She had never imagined coming this far when she'd first arrived in Otherworld so many years ago. Now, to actually be on the planet of the Grand Kai and awaiting the start of the Otherworld Martial Arts Tournaments seemed like just too much. The tournament only occurred once every hundred years and each of the Otherworld trainers would bring their best students to compete. Tessa's back now bore the symbols of four Kais, but she had trained with others briefly in between. In a sense, she was entering the tournament as a free agent, not representing any particular fighting style or sensei. She smiled. She preferred it that way. It gave her a sense of freedom by not being attached to anyone.

Melon trailed behind, amused by her interest in these gardens when the Kai of the East had had far more spectacular specimens that she'd tended to in her garden. He realized then that Tessa had probably found those plants to be far too unearthly as they'd been amongst the more rare species of the galaxy. However, this garden was filled with flowers from Earth as well as a few others that blended in nicely.

"Which one do you like?" Melon asked breaking the silence and Tessa turned to look back at him as she smiled thoughtfully.

"I don't know. They're all pretty I guess."

"Hm, but all girls have a favorite flower. What's yours?"

"Why? Are you going to pick me a bouquet of them?" she teased rolling her eyes. She turned gazing along the ground before spotting the flower that looked like the one from her dreams of Vegeta-sai. She could still remember the fields of them that had grown just outside the capital city. She and Vegeta would dash away from Nappa's barely watchful eye in order to play and train. Occaisionally bringing Raditz with them so Vegeta could have a sparring partner. Looking back she realized that it was only in their heads that escape was a challenge. When in reality, it had been planned by their parents to have an unwitting nursemaid. Just as it was planned that Raditz would be Vegeta's sparring partner due to his lower class.

She sighed as she crossed her arms behind her head and smiled at the good memories that she did have. Not everything had been horrible about her life she supposed. Refocusing on the flowers, she recognized them to be white gerber daisies, their petals large and floppy with a brilliant shade of yellow at the center.

Melon caught the attention of her gaze and stooped plucking one stepping back towards her. He stuck it into her hair behind her ear and smiled. "How like you to pick such a simple flower."

"Are you calling me simple?"

"No," he snorted. "I'm saying it's like you to see the beauty in even the most simple of things while most people would over look it."

"Oh." Her cheeks flushed hotly as she lowered her gaze and Melon caught her by the chin, raising her face towards his again.

"It's a good thing, Tess. I'm grateful everyday that you are the way you are. No one else would look past my appearance to see something more."

If possible, her cheeks felt hotter and she wasn't sure if it was his words or his touch that caused the blood to rush to the surface of her face. She quickly turned away towards a nearby tree, and leaned back against it allowing herself to slide down into a sitting position. Melon followed and after a few moments sat down beside her, twirling another daisy between his fingers so that the petals would lift against the forces of gravity.

Tessa sighed as she sat next to Melon, leaning on his shoulder and enjoyed the peaceful, yet thoughtful, silence. After so long, she had grown to appreciate silence with Melon. It was comfortable with him, sitting under this tree outside the grounds for the tournament. For now things were still quiet and it wasn't crowded yet. But it was silence begging to be broken. "Melon-chan, do you think I'm pretty?"

He blinked glancing sideways down at her. How to answer and walk away intact? "Um, yes?" He hoped that was the right answer. It was hard to tell with her. Sometimes she would be 100% warrior, other times, a complete and total flirt. If he ever guessed wrong, he'd be facing the 100% princess within seconds. It was like playing with fire and trying to guess which end of a three dimensional spectrum she was choosing to inhabit at the moment.

She looked confused at his hesitation and then smiled beamingly. "Good."

"Good?" he echoed raising an eyebrow.

"Yes, good. Because I think you're handsome. I didn't want it to be awkward," she said settling against his shoulder again as she sighed contentedly.

Melon gazed down at her spiky hair and his brow furrowed. "Well congratulations on achieving a whole new level of awkward," he commented causing her to look back up at him again.

"Why? Do you want to kiss me?" she asked teasingly as she brushed a finger up over his chest. She refused to second guess herself on this one because otherwise she'd be self-conscious around him for a very long time. Besides, she was fairly certain that he did have feelings for her. You didn't spend twenty years with someone and not notice. Besides, anyone who fought as often as they did had to have some sort of tension between them that went much deeper than their petty fights. She was just crossing her fingers that it was sexual tension and not something else.

His hands instantly came up in front of him like a defensive shield. "W-what ever made you ask that?!" The flower now hung precariously on his left hand, laced between his fingers.

His shift in posture forced her to relent his shoulder as her pillow and she begrudgingly sat up straight. "You kissed me before. But you haven't kissed me again since. But you do think I'm pretty," she said ticking the items off on her hand as her brow creased with thought. Actually, that was a good point. Why hadn't he kissed her since then? It wasn't exactly as if she were jail bait or anything. Sure, she was stuck in a sixteen year old body, but she was now of the maturity of a thirty year old, at least, a Saiyan thirty year old. Actually, that wasn't saying much. She sighed in frustration of still being a teenager. A very large part of her was ready to grow up. Somedays it felt like her diminuitive size was holding her back from that.

"I kissed you in order to steal your energy. That's hardly romantic!" he scoffed trying to play it off and she narrowed her eyes.

"You didn't have to kiss me to steal it though. You could have just grabbed my wrist and held me still," she argued. Her now fully grown tail was flicking back and forth in agitation behind her and Melon found his gaze being drawn to it, unable to look her in the eyes.

"I-I could have. I just didn't think I'd be able to keep you still long enough that way." As he talked with his hands in agitation, the flower danced back and forth, darting across Tessa's attention and she blinked in order to refocus on his face.

"So it was just a tactic?"

_Uh oh. I just officially jumped feet first into my own deeply dug hole, didn't I?_ His eyes locked with hers again and he fearfully waited for the lethal strike to come. He had just inadvertently insulted her, deeply. If there was one thing he regretted, it would be those words that misconstrued his true actions so long ago. He had kissed her because he'd thought he'd never see her again—at least never speak to her again. But how was he supposed to admit that any kiss he gave her would have to be a kiss goodbye? "Tess, please…we've talked about this. I've made mistakes, and I thought we'd moved past the 'I apologize and hope you don't kill me stage'."

"I want you to kiss me."

"I'm not going to do that," he said suddenly stern as his eyes narrowed. On this matter he would not, could not apologize.

"Well, why not."

"Because you can't force someone to do that!" _No matter how much they want to without your prodding. _His voice had risen in pitch on the last word almost making it sound as if his voice had cracked like a pubescent. His countenance darkened as he scowled. He hated the fact that anytime they fought he always ended up having to break down or look like an idiot. And once again, she was going to succeed in doing just that.

"But you think I'm pretty."

"That's beside the point!" _Not pretty. Gorgeous in that firey way that seems catch my eye. And I really need to stop thinking along these lines or I'll spend another twenty years losing arguments._

"No it's not," she snapped crossing her arms over her chest.

"Look, this is just another example of how you're still just a child. You don't even understand what you're asking," he huffed standing up.

She stared up at him dumbfounded, blinking as the flower finally slipped from his hand and bounced against her face before falling to the ground. It was just a flower, but it felt like he'd struck her across the face with his hand instead. _Child?_ _Did he actually just call me a child?_ It took all the will power she had remaining not to burst into tears and prove him right. But her constraint was faltering as her lower lip began to tremble and she quickly looked away hoping to hide her physical reaction to his words. She buried her face into her hands, trying to press and tighten the skin across her face until she was no longer capable of emotional reaction. It wasn't exactly effective, or pleasant, and she softened her grip on her own face.

"Tess," he sighed and he got no response aside from her scooting slightly so that she was turning further away from him. His shoulders sagged as he looked down at the girl and he frowned deeply. He was starting to develop an unfortunate knack for hurting her feelings. And worse yet, he seemed to be honing the talent with time. "Tess, I didn't mean it."

"Yes you did!" she sobbed turning her back towards him even further. "Just leave me alone. I wouldn't want to bother you with my childish antics any further."

"Tess, come on. You're not bothering me."

"Apparently I am. Now shoo. You don't need to baby-sit me any longer."

"It's not baby-sitting. I like to think of it as teen-sitting," he said lightly as he smiled gently hoping to get a better reaction.

That did it. Now there were real waterworks pouring down over her fingers as they were no longer able to be contained by her hands and Melon gazed skyward praying that any Kai whatsoever would intervene. Her knees were now drawn up into her chest as she crossed her arms over them only to bury her face completely into her lap so that no one could look at her and so that she didn't have to look at anyone either.

Melon figured calling her a crybaby wouldn't help the situation and so he sat down on the ground next to her again—silently. He stretched his legs out in front of him and leaned back on his hands and wondered how long it would last before she returned to some of her senses. That and how long it would take for him to realize he was a moron that needed a muzzle in order to stop hurting her feelings. He sighed and closed his eyes. Yes, a muzzle would do the trick. However, it would be hard to explain why he needed one. Everyone would just assume he was a rabid demon and not just a hurtful person.

They sat awkwardly for a long time before Melon finally leaned forward and placed a hand on Tessa's shoulder. She hiccupped and looked back over her shoulder at him. Surprisingly, she didn't shrug him off. Her eyes were wide and red from crying and she placed her hand over his and squeezed it tightly. "I'm s-sorry," she said as her breathing hitched and Melon sighed gazing down at her.

"Why are you sorry?" he asked rotating his wrist so that he was now holding her hand and gently tugged her towards him and she came compliantly. He had her turned so her back was against his chest as he cradled her in his arms. All the while, he still held her hand as he leaned his chin onto her shoulder. It was extraordinarily tempting to brush his nose against her temple or to nibble ever so gently on her ear but he restrained himself as he blinked slowly.

"For being an immature brat," she sniffed and Melon smiled as he gazed at the side of her face. He raised one hand to brush back the strands of hair that hung in her face hiding her eyes and she cast a sideways glance at him before closing her eyes and turning her head.

"I don't mind so much," he replied leaving his fingers resting against her temple for a moment before letting them trail back through her hair once more.

"But you do. I know you do," she hiccupped.

"Shh…" Melon let the air out slowly through pursed lips and she glanced sideways at him again and he smiled. "Alright, so you may have some moments that are worse than others," he consented. "But I've accepted that about you."

"I don't deserve you," she said softly turning her head to fully look at him and he was taken aback for a moment. It was those words that made him realize that he was doing it again. He was being overly affectionate and attentive. He needed to stop doing that. It wouldn't do any good to rebuke her if he was just going to turn around and act like this.

"Tess, you deserve better," he managed to spit out, his expression tightening as his hands immediately dropped.

"I don't see anyone else around who's taking the time to dry my tears," she replied forcing a brave smile.

"I also don't see anyone else around that's making you cry."

Her smile widened a little and became more natural. "I don't mind. Crying is better than nothing. At least this way, I know there's a part of me that's still alive."

"You're masochistic," he muttered lowering his gaze.

"Just one more thing to add to my laundry list of flaws," she sighed in fake exasperation. "I don't know how you could possibly believe I'm cut out to be a tennin with so many detrimental qualities."

Melon smirked a little realizing that by now she'd moved past upset and hurt and onto the phase where she was fishing for compliments in order to repair her self-esteem. The question was now whether or not he should play along. "You're right," he said leaning his head back a little. "You're nowhere near beautiful enough. You'd probably be better off in Hell as a demon with a complexion like yours."

Tessa scoffed indignantly and poked her nose into the air as she crossed her arms over her chest. Melon just chuckled at her reaction as he lowered his gaze again. Like hell he'd tell her that if she couldn't be a tennin, the only reason why would be sheer jealously on the part of the other tennins.

* * *

Tessa danced from one foot to another in nervous energy as she waited for her first round of the tournament to start. Unlike on Earth, there were no preliminaries to narrow down the field. It was straight into the finals with so few contenders. And all of them looked like worthy contenders.

Melon watched from nearby and finally had had enough watching her do what closely resembled the pee dance. "Enough," he said planting his hands on her shoulders. "You'll burn through all your energy before you've even started," he warned.

"I've got way more than this. I'm just anxious. I can't stand still."

"Well, please try," he said patting her shoulders before letting them go.

Tessa tilted her head for a moment and then grinned having come up with a new way to entertain herself in the interim. "How can you stand to wear those gloves all the time?" Tessa asked, suddenly changing the topic as she grabbed Melon's hands and began peeling his gloves off. He attempted to protest but it was too late and she was holding both of his gloves in her left hand, and in her right hand lay his ungloved left.

He stared at his hand and gulped. "My hands get cold," he muttered trying to pull it back but she had a firm grip on his hand, her thumb running across the back of it in slow massaging circles.

"Lies," she hissed. "Your hand's all sweaty. Seriously, why do you wear those things?" she asked flapping the gloves in the air like a flag. "I could understand if it was some cold hands demon trait or something, but apparently it's not."

"I just prefer to wear them, ok?" he snarled reaching for his gloves but she quickly dodged her hand out of his reach. He darted his hand out again, this time catching her by the wrist and her breath hissed as she dropped the gloves and he released her.

"Hey! That wasn't really necessary. All you had to do was ask nicely." She rubbed her wrist where he'd grabbed her and absorbed her energy in the process. She sent him a glowering look but he ignored it for the most part as he quickly slipped the gloves back on.

He was still trying to calm his heart back down to a normal pace. When she'd stolen his gloves, he thought his heart was going to just give out in the effort to restrain his abilities. That and hwas mentally berating himself for having bad aim. He'd aimed to grab the gloves, not her wrist and look what had happened because of his mistake. The touch of energy that he'd stolen was already making him hyper sensitive to his surroundings. He couldn't ignore her intense gaze boring into his skull for very long, but he was afraid to look into her dark eyes. He was afraid of what he'd do if he did. "Would you have really listened if I'd asked nicely?" he snapped. He kept his eyes and his focus lowered onto his hands until they were adjusted just right again. When he finally raised his gaze she met it with one of her own glares, her bottom lip pushed out in a pout.

"Yes, I would have," she said crossing her arms over her chest. "I'm not as mean as you."

"Me? Mean?" Melon snorted at this idea. Being cynical always made it easier to control himself. "If I was mean, then you'd be all alone and lost. Probably have fallen into Hell and not known how to get back out. If I was mean…"

"You're right," she interrupted looking abashed. "I was only teasing. Please don't take it to heart." She was now squeezing both of his gloved hands in her own and giving him a pitiful pleading look. "You're my best friend; of course I don't think you're mean." He stared down at her in surprise at the apology. He hadn't been looking for one. In fact he'd been trying to figure out whether or not he owed her one.

"Let the next round begin!" boomed the Grand Kai's voice and Tessa grinned dancing backwards.

"That's me. Wish me luck," she said flashing him a wide smile and giving him two thumbs up.

"Bad luck to you. Hope you break both your legs," he retorted sarcastically and waved her off dismissively.

"Hey! That'd be great. I'd recover even stronger than before," she joked as she turned and ran out to the platform.

Melon sighed as he turned away from her and shook his head. That had been…interesting. Shoving his hands into his pocket he started towards the side entrance to the waiting area, completely lost in his own thoughts. It'd been a while since he'd gotten sloppy. He was always so careful to not touch her out of fear that this little incident had certainly confirmed a few of his fears. He really couldn't initiate contact without hurting her. That was bad, very bad.


	13. Chapter 13: It's Just a Kiss

**So, I told you updates wouldn't always be late or sketchy or short. I mean, this one's like twice the length of the last chapter. *hums happily* It was just a little difficult for me to get from Point A (King Kai) to Point B (here!). Hope you enjoy.**

**Chapter 13: It's Just a Kiss**

Tessa stood in the center of the platform and gazed upwards at the domed ceiling. There was a height restriction on this tournament. Apparently flight was far more common amongst other fighters in the galaxy. Her eyes shifted across the platform to gaze upon her opponent, a large purple skinned man whom she could barely consider to be humanoid. About the only feature they shared in common was bipedal mode of transportation. Beyond that his skin had the texture of tanned leather with a scalar pattern across his back, his face bore three eyes and no nose that she could discern. And he looked to be like three hundred pounds of pure muscle.

She swallowed staring up at him and unconsciously drew her tail tight around her waist. Melon had been making a habit of yanking it recently to make sure that it wouldn't hinder in the tournament. While she wasn't paralyzed anymore, it hurt like hell and she was barely able to react. Her opponent smirked seeing this and Tessa's heart sunk. She had a tell, a dangerous one.

Melon had meanwhile found himself a seat and was watching Tessa carefully. She was nervous and he couldn't remember the last time he'd seen her nervous. In fact, he was almost certain that she'd never been this nervous before in his presence. While she may have been a prodigy, she still had quite a ways to go before she could be considered an accomplished fighter. Most of her training had been in techniques, not in actual sparring situations. What if she was out of practice?

He rested his elbows on his knees, clasping his hands in front of him in a silent prayer that she would be okay. What if that little energy tap had been more than either of them thought? He was feeling it. Was she? He was now regretting his reaction to her playful antics earlier. He needed to learn more self control and he was a little discouraged that after twenty years he hadn't managed to do so. Granted, he'd spent a hundred times longer than that not caring to have any. He'd never had a reason to be careful before meeting her.

The crowd was starting to build up in volume and Melon was forced to stand in order to keep his eyes on the platform. Little did he know that someone else was standing in order to keep their eyes on him.

Tessa waited for her opponent to make the first move. The man did not attack right away, but rather lept into the air. She hesitated, watching him go up, and wondered if she should follow or wait. This would be one way to test his ability to use energy attacks. She stayed rooted to the spot prepared to take a hit. At this angle, it would just drive her into the platform. She was in no danger of being knocked out of bounds and she was getting good at taking a beating and standing back up. That much she had faith in being able to do.

Getting tired of waiting and realizing she wouldn't come after him, her opponent sent a dazzling blue blast directly at her. Tessa sidestepped, once, twice, out of the way. It felt like it was slow motion, but it was mere milliseconds in reality. The blast scorched the platform, but did little more. She looked at the dark burn marks for a moment, her nose flaring a little before she looked back up. "Is that it? I should have stayed put."

She pushed off into the air and before she reached her opponent, she disappeared. Her opponent was now frantic. He couldn't see her at all and suddenly the blow came from behind, sending him soaring into the nearly invisible barrier. He landed like a fly on a windshield right in front of the Grand Kai before sliding down the barrier to fall into the soft grass.

"Tanga-denka of the Saiyans moves on," came the booming voice of the Grand Kai. He was standing up from his seat and Tanga moved through the air to hover before him, nodding her head slightly before dropping to the ground. For a moment she felt like it'd been too easy. Then she was certain of it as she felt sick to her stomach. There was no way in Hell that it was going to be this easy for the rest of the tournament. She almost wished she had broken her legs.

She breezed through the waiting area without seeing Melon trying to catch up to her. She wanted air, she need to be outside the bubble. She needed to train.

Melon tried to push his way past the other fighters but was knocked back easily with an arm across his chest. Melon looked up at the fighter from the flat of his back and groaned. "Do you mind?" he muttered pushing himself back up.

"Fighters only," came the growling response.

Melon was on his feet now and realized that he had just managed to pick a fight with someone twice his berth and at least a foot taller. He nodded slowly and then mustered up his courage again. "I am a fighter. I'm just not in the tournament. Now let me pass," he said defiantly, allowing his human form to slip away in favor of the demon. The fighter just smirked looking nonplussed with Melon's new appearance. Apparently this guy was well condition with the Otherworld and wasn't taken by surprise by much of anything. "Let me pass, or I'll drop you unconscious and you'll miss your precious fighting match." Again, no verbal response and no movement away from the entryway that Tessa had disappeared through. "Don't say I didn't warn you," Melon grumbled ripping his gloves off and rolling up his sleeves.

He lowered his shoulders and charged at the man, wrapping his arms around the solid trunk that was supposed to be called a waist. At first, it seemed to have little effect, but as Melon drained more of the man's energy, they began to dance backwards towards the entrance way until finally they'd hit the wall beside it. Melon released his grip and stepped back to watch as his opponent slipped to the ground, his eyes rolling up into his head.

"I warned you," Melon said simply as he put his gloves back on and stepped through the entrance way. Already his human appearance was returning.

Tessa was nowhere to be found though. And Melon now had a headache from taking so much energy by force. It was usually easier to do it gradually or to have a willing victim. The latter was hard to come by unless they were a strangely confused Saiyan lost in time. Speaking of which…Melon looked around to see that they were in the gardens that they'd frequented when they'd first arrived on the planet. Now if he could only remember how to get back to the main palace from here then he might be able to look for Tessa in the rooms that they'd been granted.

He walked along a path bordered on both sides by a high hedge and paused when he thought he could hear a lone voice rising up ever so slightly above the roar of the crowd behind him. He wedged his way in through the bushes and found Tessa to be going through the motions of jujitsu. "Wouldn't that work better with a sparring partner?" Melon asked breaking her concentration effectively enough for her to fall over. She sat up startled and her head swiveled around to face him. "Sorry, it wasn't my intention to scare you," he said walking towards her and offering her a hand.

She took it and kept her hand clasped around his even after they were standing. "I'm a little unnerved, that's all," she said softly.

"Whatever for? You beat your opponent effortlessly."

"Too easy," came her response as she shook her head. "I'm afraid that I'll make the wrong assumption that they'll all be that easy."

"Oh, well, I might have thinned the field a little," Melon said rubbing the back of his head as forced a smile. "Somebody got in my way."

"Melon…you didn't."

"I know, I know," he sighed, rolling his eyes heavenward before glancing back down at her. "But I was worried about you. I've never seen you look so nervous before a fight and then you just took off."

She punched him in the chest and for the first time in a long time, her playful hit didn't hurt. Apparently that brute had been pretty strong. "Promise you won't do it again?"

"I'll try not to. No guarantees."

"That's not the answer I was hoping to hear."

"Unfortunately, I don't cater to _all _of your wants."

"That's a shame," she said playfully letting a finger trail over his chest. He looked down to see what she was doing for a moment before his eyes flickered back up to meet hers with as much apathy as he could muster on his face. After a moment she smiled and pressed her hand flat to his chest. "Alright then, there is something else you can do to help me," Tessa said, her gaze soft but there was a slyness about her.

"Oh, no. No, no, no. Nah uh."

"I didn't even say what it was yet," she pouted, angling her shoulders slightly.

"You want me to drain you of your energy so that you'll get stronger."

"Oh, you're good. You read my mind, didn't you?"

"No need," he growled as he crossed his arms over his chest. "I should have seen that coming from a mile away. And I won't do it."

"Oh don't be such a downer, it's not like you can kill me. My existence is only erased if I lose my body, remember? I'll be fine. Just like when I accidentally lost control of the Spirit Bomb and completely drained myself, or that other time when I…"

"I have no doubt that you'll be fine," he sighed shaking his head as he cut her off. "I doubt that I will be. When I drained you at the World Martial Arts Tournament, I nearly lost my head with the power. Now you're stronger. I don't think I'll be able to maintain the same type of control this time. Especially not after draining bozo the retard fighter back there. And I've spent a lot of time trying to get what little control I do have. The last thing I want is to revert into some power hungry animal…" Unconsciously, he'd been stepping away from her as if she had the power to force him into draining her. Still her closeness bothered him because at any moment, the animal could rear its ugly head and act anyway.

"I trust you," she interrupted stepping towards him and smiled. "I know you can do it."

"I don't think you get it," he retorted. "It's like a drug. And yours is the most refined. It'd be far too easy for me to become addicted again. And you might not like who I am after that."

Tessa's face looked crestfallen as she stood just a few inches away from him, her head tilting so that she could get a better angle at looking up into his face. "You're really scared, aren't you?"

His gaze lifted as he looked at her and sighed. "Yeah, I am. I'm afraid of what I might do. I'm afraid I won't be able to resist after that. That I'll continue to take without your permission, that I could kill you because you have what I want. I've promised myself I'd never hurt you again."

Tessa lowered her gaze and nodded. "You're right. It was selfish of me to ask. You're my friend yet I completely ignored how it would affect you." She gave a small smile before turning away only to have him grab her by the wrist to stop her. She was giving up and he didn't want her to give up. He wanted to help her the way he always helped her. But this time it was different. This time she was asking him to do something he'd regret later. At least he thought he'd regret it. What if there was nothing to regret? What if he was only thinking it'd be worse than it really was?

She glanced over her shoulder to see his brow was furrowed in thought and she spun back to face him. "I can't guarantee who or what I'll be if I do this," he said lowly. No there were no guarantees. No promises to be made this time. He would either be okay, or he'd turn back into the monster he'd been more than two thousand years ago. Was he really willing to risk two thousand years of progress in an effort to make her happy?

"I trust you," she said repeating herself, allowing a small smile to creep over her features. "Call me a fool, but I do trust you."

That smile was what did him in. Apparently he was willing to do anything to make her smile and far be it for him to take that smile away from her now. Her smile was suddenly reflected on his features as he ran a hand through her hair before resting it at the base of her neck. She was certainly not the fool. He was. Looking down at her he knew that what he was about to do would either make things better or a hundred times worse. And even if it did make things better, it would probably be short lived before she started to question him again. Their conversation held in this garden only a few short days ago had been haunting him ever since. Why had he balked so hard then only to give in now? "And just in case you don't like me after this…" he said before leaning in and pressing his lips to hers. She sighed as she pressed her hands to his chest leaning into him and the kiss deepened as Melon snaked an arm around her waist pulling her tight to him as he felt her strength to stand on her own begin to wane. Already he could feel her energy coursing through him, and it made him feel heady as he cradled her nearly limp body against him, and yet her lips still moved against his, her tongue fighting his for dominance. It was as if she were fighting to stay conscious just for that one purpose.

A final breath escaped over her lips softly as her head lolled to the side and he caught her, gently laying her down on the ground before standing back up. He ran his hands back through his hair gripping the curls tightly as his breathing became heavier trying to maintain that thin line of control. It was slipping away so quickly on him. The more he considered what he wished he could still do with her, the faster the control over her energy leaked away.

He gazed down at his hands and growled to see that he was changing forms without any control over it. Her power was too much for him to control in his human form. He clenched his fists, the blue skin turning white at the knuckles as the long nails bit into his palms even through his gloves. The scent of copper from his own blood filled his nostrils and he closed his eyes trying to focus on transforming back. He could not transform or he'd be apt to loose total control over his own actions. He didn't like becoming the demon for it was like being forced to take the back seat in his own body while some animal took over the driver's seat. Then he'd be trapped watching helplessly as he would do terrible things, unable to lift a finger and stop his own self from acting out, from hurting, from doing things he didn't want to do. What if he hurt her? His heart clenched at the thought.

"Why am I not surprised?" a voice spoke up interrupting his thoughts and he whirled on his heel crouching into a defensive stance and was surprised by who he saw. She was tall, with dark brown curly hair and brown eyes, a frown printed on her face. Her bohemian clothing was loosely fitting and flowed about her in the ethereal breeze of the planet. Her skirt hung about her bare feet and ankles and a lace shawl was wrapped across her back and tucked into her elbows.

"Anya," he growled. The animal he had become seemed to step to the side in order to allow him to step forward. The animal didn't know her, Melon did.

She gave a small nod before resting her chin on the knuckles of one of her hands thoughtfully as she circled around the unconscious girl and Melon growled possessively at the woman's intrusion. She turned giving him an appraising look and smiled softly and appreciatively. "That's a new look for you," she commented noting his long sleeves and the gloves he wore. She knelt down beside Tessa, stroking the girl's hair lovingly.

"Yeah. I know," he muttered nervously pulling the gloves off and shoving them into his back jeans pocket. Anya's eyes flickered up to meet his gaze and was surprised by the amount of strain he displayed. He wanted to kill her—but he wasn't, or knew he couldn't. The anger and frustration displayed in his eyes was plainly evident. It had been a long time since she'd last seen him, but she couldn't recall him ever wearing a look quite like that. Perhaps becoming a demon had changed him more than she'd thought. "Where's your crystal ball?" he hissed.

"I didn't need it for this trip," she sneered. "It doesn't take a psychic to see what's going on here."

A tic was starting to form on his right eye and her last statement had certainly struck a nerve. How dare she assume to know anything? "Well, why are you here?"

"Imagine my surprise when I heard you'd gotten out of Hell. And not only that, but you were palling around with some girl. You can understand my concern." Anya gripped Tessa's chin in her hand, tilting her head this way and that as she appraised the girl's sharp features. He let out a deep growl but Anya ignored it as she released Tessa's chin to touch her hair again with fascination. "You care about her, don't you?" Melon nodded and Anya smiled mischievously. "I do good work."

"It got you killed," he pointed out, crossing his arms tightly over his chest.

"I've gotten over that."

"I never did." Both of them realized it was the closest he'd ever come to apologizing for what had happened.

Anya blinked in surprise at his honesty. His face was still the perfect caricature of anger, but his eyes were sad. "It's been three thousand years. At some point you need to move on."

"That's a little hard to do when I'm the one in Hell."

"You made your choices," she argued standing back up.

"And how long do I have to suffer for them?"

"Oh, please, you haven't suffered the entire three thousand years. By comparison, you just met this girl," she snapped starting to feel a little more indignant as she rested her fists on her hips.

"Please, for her," his gaze immediately softened as he looked down at the girl lying behind Anya. She was resting on her side, one arm wrapped around her chest, the other resting beneath her head.

Anya snorted glancing over her shoulder at the girl before snapping her gaze back to Melon. "As if I would do you any favors. She's probably better off the further you are from her."

"I'm the only person she's got left."

"That's just…sad," Anya said, her lips curling back at the thought. "I mean, you? Of all people. Really? You couldn't find anyone else to dump her onto?" she snorted.

"I didn't particularly want to. And no, there wasn't anyone else."

Anya then snorted before it became a full blown chuckle. "Of course, why wouldn't you want to be with her? Someone as powerful as her, it suits your inclinations." There was something dark about her laughter and it unnerved Melon.

"I didn't realize that two established a pattern," he sneered crossing his arms over his chest.

Anya smirked as she walked right up to him and pressed a finger into his chest. "It's enough to start," she said before running her finger up his chest and then used it to flick his nose causing him to lean his head back slightly in his surprise. "You're not afraid of being too close to me," she said surprised as he brought his head back down to a level and didn't shy away from their close proximity.

"No. I know I won't inadvertently drain your energy this time," he deadpanned. "Besides, you're already dead."

"Y-you don't love me anymore?" she asked stunned. For good measure she pressed her hand to his cheek and he stoically reached up with a bare hand and clasped hers in his own before drawing it away.

"I did for the first thousand years. And then I realized that I was only clinging to that for all the wrong reasons."

Her eyes narrowed as she gazed into his eyes. It was hard to believe that so long ago those misty blue eyes used to gaze at her with lust but now there was nothing. It was as if he could almost care less. Almost. "And what were those wrong reasons?"

"I was selfish. I was overly confident. In short, I was an asshole."

"Yeah, that sounds about right. Sounds like the reason I turned you down. I find it hard to believe you've changed though. Being turned into a demon certainly does little to comfort me either. Tell me why I shouldn't do everything in my power to protect that girl from you."

"Because I love her and I'll admit, I'm more of a danger to her this way," he said shaking his head gently as he averted his eyes and gazed down. "But, I'd go so far as to say I'm bound to her."

"Bound to her?" she echoed, the words rolling strangely off her tongue.

"She's a Saiyan."

"Y-you moron!" she hissed.

"I didn't know!" he snapped, his head coming back up and his eyes glittered darkly.

"She has a tail! How could you not?"

Melon rolled his eyes as he crossed his arms over his chest. "How about the fact that it grew back afterwards? The fact that she has red hair didn't help either. I had no reason to think she was anything but human at the time. For Kai's sake they've all died out but her."

Anya glanced over her shoulder again at the girl and shook her head. "You're still a moron. At least some things never change."

"Thanks for you assessment. Now, can you be so kind as to remove this stupid curse?"

Anya's head whipped around and her eyes narrowed. "Oh for the love of...No!"

"You'll stand by and watch her get hurt because you still want to carry a chip on your shoulder?"

"It's not a chip on my shoulder. It's a punishment for being a lousy human being. You're not supposed to be happy," she said shoving her finger back into his chest and he flinched. "Is it my fault that you've been stupid enough to get involved with someone anyway despite all of the terribly good reasons to keep your distance?"

He slapped her hand away as he glared down at her, the muscles visibly tightening across his shoulders as he tensed. "I don't want to hurt her."

"So stay away from her then," Anya said waving her hand dismissively. "Seems like a perfectly reasonable idea to me."

Melon growled as the woman walked away from him and closed his eyes in frustration, his knuckles whitening once again in his anger. He didn't want to admit it, but if Anya hadn't shown up and distracted him, he had no idea what he would have done. Somehow it felt as if most of Tessa's energy had dissipated in the heat of their argument. As he allowed himself to relax again, he reverted back to his human form and knelt down at Tessa's side, scooping her up in his arms.

She stirred a little, nuzzling into his chest with a sigh as she drifted into a peaceful sleep and he sighed gazing down at her. _Why do you believe in me? Why can I not break your faith, little one? _He adjusted her weight in his arms a little, raising her up as he closed his eyes and pressed his lips to hers once more. He rested his lips against hers for a moment, caressing her bottom lip between his before parting and placing a small kiss on her forehead. There was no spark; no transfer of energy as he had already taken all there was to take. At least there was nothing in a physical sense. But that didn't mean he didn't feel an overwhelming calm wash over him as he held her in his arms and gazed down at her tranquil face. "What is it you see in me that no one else does, including me?" he whispered knowing he'd get no answer but if felt better just getting it off his chest.

His calm waned though as he realized that it would probably be the only time he could touch her that he wouldn't hurt her. He'd already hurt her as much as he could already. That made it all the harder for him to pull away as he wanted to be able to keep a bare hand pressed to her cheek just to know how soft her skin was against his own. But already the window of opportunity was passing as color was returning to her cheeks and he lowered his hesitating hand back down to his side. It didn't matter, because what he truly wanted was to feel the warmth of her touch and drained as she was, she was cold, almost unpleasant by comparison.

* * *

Tessa woke and blinked as she gazed up at Melon and smiled. For once, he didn't return the gesture and her smile slipped into a frown as she sat up worriedly. "Are you ok?" she asked looking over him and noted the blood smears on the sleeves of his shirt. She quickly grabbed his hands and saw the row of nail marks across each palm and gazed into his face, concern plainly evident. "You're hurt."

He pulled his hands roughly away from her touch and frowned as he slid his torn gloves back on. "Just don't, ok?"

"I'm sorry. I shouldn't have asked. It was wrong of me."

"No," he said shaking his head. "I'm not mad at you. I'm mad at myself."

"But it's my fault that you're tempted. I didn't take you seriously enough." She reached out with her hand and again he jerked back, rocking onto his heels and then standing. Her gaze shifted upwards to follow as he back stepped away putting a few feet between them.

"It's not your fault. It's my own. You couldn't understand," he sighed running his hands through his hair. How could he tell her that it wasn't by choice that he never touched her, never returned her affections? How could he tell her that he wanted to? He licked his lips before chewing thoughtfully on his lower one as he gazed down at her. It was strange how he'd been at her side for so many years and neither of them had aged and all of a sudden as he looked down at her she seemed like a woman. That quite possibly made it worse.

"But I do now. I'm sorry," she repeated herself as she pushed herself to her feet and approached him only for him to backstep again. She pulled up short surprised by his behavior.

"Don't. Touch. Me," he growled and her hand slowly dropped to her side as she stared at him, a little afraid. He lowered his gaze as he could feel his breathing becoming heavier once more. There was still enough of her energy coursing through him to make him a viable threat if he lost control. And the monster that dwelled in his heart was hungry for more, wanted to take without permission. Melon had to rail against that desire with all of his being and he knew that if he looked up, he would lose that fight.

"I don't think you'll hurt me," Tessa said then forcing her fears aside. "You promised you wouldn't."

"It's a promise I can't keep, Tess. I was a fool to make it," he said and the words hurt him more than her. He'd known it all along, but to say it out loud seemed to make it real. He was finally admitting to himself that he really was a danger to her. Because right now the only thing he could think about was how it had felt to press his lips against hers. And it made him wonder what it would be like to have more. He wasn't sure if it was her superfluous energy coursing through him or a heat of passion that stirred in his chest. He prayed it was the former and he knew he couldn't look up. If he looked up then it would be the latter and then he'd act upon it to her detriment.

Tessa stood silently watching as he turned and began to walk away only to start running. She blinked dumbly unsure of how to respond whether she should go after him or wait for him to return. What if he never came back? What if he expected her to come after him? What if she made the wrong choice?

"He'll be back."

Tessa spun to gaze at the dark woman before her and was surprised to see a human. She'd become so used to seeing aliens and otherworldly creatures that she'd almost forgotten what a human face looked like aside from her own and Melon's. She was pretty to say the least; actually, she was gorgeous with dark brown curly hair that hung past her shoulders, a scarf tied around the top of her head to tame the strands away from her face. Her eyes were the color of cocoa and her high cheek bones accented them perfectly. Her clothes were also beautiful as they were vividly colored and loosely fit to flow about her as the woman moved making everything about her seem even more graceful. "W-who are you?"

The woman smiled as she stepped towards the girl. "Anya. I'm a psychic. So believe me when I say, he'll be back."

"Oh, thank the Kais. I don't know what I'd do if he didn't."

The woman looked genuinely surprised by that. Tessa was surprised, for a psychic, she should have seen that type of response coming. "You care about him?"

Tessa raised a hand to the back of her head and laughed nervously as she lowered her gaze to the ground. "Yeah…he's my best friend. I guess you could say I love him because I certainly couldn't venture a guess at what life without him would be like anymore."

"Do you know what he is?"

Tessa just shrugged as she looked back up to meet the woman's gaze. "Sure. He's a demon. But who doesn't have their problems?"

"Melon has more than just problems. He is one."

Tessa just rolled her eyes at that. "Same could be said about me," she laughed. "I guess that's why we get along so well."

Anya just stared at the girl. Could she really be so daft? Then again that bubbly nature was hard to ignore. No wonder Melon had found himself attracted to her. She took several steps forward towards the girl and held out a hand. "May I?" Tessa shrugged before placing her hand in the woman's only to have the woman flip it over, palm up, as she traced the lines. She closed her eyes in concentration and suddenly dropped her hand as she stepped back. "You mustn't welcome Melon back. You need to stay away from him."

"What? Why? What did you see?"

"Nothing. You have no future. There is nothing of you in the future."

Tessa blinked and frowned. "Melon can't be the cause of that. He can't erase from me existence like that. He's not strong enough to do it nor would his powers work to do that," she argued and the woman looked terrified at the girl's ignorance.

"You don't get it, do you? You're current course of actions will result in you disappearing entirely from existence. The only cause I can think of is that you're getting too chummy with a demon who is cursed."

"Melon's cursed?" Tessa asked surprised by that information. He had never mentioned a curse before.

"He hasn't told you?"

Tessa shook her head as she furrowed her brows. "Whatever it is, he'll tell me."

"No, he won't. He ran away so he could come up with some means of coping without ever needing to tell you. When he figures out another temporary fix, that's when he'll come back. He'll spin his lies and draw you in to believe him and then you're the one who'll be hurt in the end."

"He's sworn never to hurt me," Tessa insisted. "He wouldn't. H-he…" _loves me._ The thought never passed over her lips but it brought Tessa to a pause. Her gaze lowered as she pondered that. He had promised to take care of her and he was the only one who'd ever done that since she'd been a little girl. Not since her adoptive mother had died. Not since she'd been ripped away from Vegeta. And Melon always seemed to put her first, despite some of his hesitations to do so sometimes. As close as she could tell, he actually _loved_ her.

Anya must have sensed what Tessa was thinking and slapped her hand to her forehead. "Now don't start thinking like that. He can't possibly feel love. He's a demon."

"Of course he can. Everyone can. It's right up there with free will which he has in spades," Tessa replied, a smile creeping up over her lips. Melon loved her. She felt like she was walking on air. _Melon loves me_. Each time the thought repeated itself in her mind, her heart felt lighter and her smile was easier.

"That doesn't mean that he feels it, just that he might recognize it if it smacked him upside the head," Anya argued.

"Believe what you will about him, I know he'd never hurt me. Besides, the future is never written in stone," she sighed. There was no logical argument that could be used against her now. He loved her.

"You two are hopeless!" Anya cried exasperated. This only made Tessa's smile wider and more content. "You're crazy, you know that right? He's a demon. De-mon. Does that mean _anything_ to you?"

"What means something to me is that he is trying to change. He's trying to be a better person but no one seems to be willing to give him that chance—except me. If that makes me crazy, then I'm fine with that."

**So now we know why Melon's all angsty...yeesh...stupid boys. It's funny, I've had this story largely planned out and right now I'm undergoing what could end up being a major plot change because I like the way things are filling out now better than what I had sketched out before. So reviews would be ever so nice. I know you're out there...I do, I do, I do.**

**Also! One of the little teasers I hinted at before is about to come up. Not next chapter, but the one after that! Yes, I have the next chapter already written so it'll be uploaded in a timely fashion next week too.**

**Edit: Lies! It's next chapter! Enjoy!**


	14. Chapter 14: Okaasan

**Disclaimer: This chapter may be infected with H1N1. Proceed with extreme caution and wear a face mask. Should you present with symptoms, please proceed to the nearest butcher shop to have your pig snout harvested.**

**Not that I have the swine flu, but I have been sick. I actually thing it was a mold or allergen something like that. Mostly coughing. But the 18 hours of sleep a day have really been taking their toll. I'm hoping that the catching up that I'd done previously doesn't start to lag now because I was sick this past week. I don't have the next chappie written…or planned…or, or nothing! Thank God it's Thanksgiving break though so I should hopefully have time to write. Sometime between cooking my own Thanksgiving for friends and driving home and dealing with my family and seeing high school friends, you know what, it could be late.**

**Oh, and remember how I said last chapter that one of my little teasers would be in the **_**next **_**chapter. I lied. It's in this chapter. Enjoy!**

**Chapter 14: Okaasan**

Now alone, Tessa didn't know what to do with herself. Her next match wouldn't be until the next day, so she picked herself up off the ground where she'd settled to meditate after Anya's departure. The psychic had been strangely interested in her and Melon and upon Tessa's comments had become extremely agitated. Apparently, Tessa wasn't picking up on something that she should have been. Granted, she'd honed in on one thing in the conversation: Melon was cursed.

But that did nothing to mask over her other epiphany. Melon loved her. Whether or not it was a romantic love didn't particularly matter to her at this juncture. It'd been far too long since she'd felt loved that she'd take what she could get. And familial love was pretty high on the list of desires, possibly even more so than romantic.

She'd started meditating hoping that Melon wouldn't be gone long and would come back to find her there, but apparently not. So now she was preparing herself to go back to the palace and sleep. At least Melon knew where her room was so he could find her there perhaps? She sighed knowing that it could take far longer than she was quite prepared for Melon to return. He'd seemed very upset when he'd left and she blamed herself for that. Why hadn't she taken him seriously? He was always warning her and she completely ignored him. Why was she so selfish?

But hadn't it been worth it? She closed her eyes as she walked and smiled recalling the kiss. Pressing her hand to her mouth she remembered the pressure of his lips on hers, the warmth of his breath. By the Kais, it'd been perfect. Far better than their first kiss on Earth that had taken her so much by surprise that she'd blanked out. This time she'd been able to kiss him back. She issued a soft sigh and wondered why he hadn't kissed her before. And then she began to wonder if he'd ever kiss her again. At that thought, butterflies took flight in her stomach and she felt a little giddy.

She wasn't completely in the dark about the physical nature of love. It just seemed awkward being stuck at sixteen. But that didn't stop her from imagining what it might be like with Melon. Those thoughts carried her all the way back to the palace and into the downy bed. Now she couldn't sleep as her imagination took over. So this is what people meant by sexual frustration. She wasn't sure if she was pissed or pleased about it.

Eventually her weary mind allowed her to drift into a lonely, dreamless sleep.

* * *

Melon had spent two days trying to come up with an answer to just one question. _What now?_ He knew that Tessa would ask it in some form or another. There was no getting around that. Whether it came as, 'So where do we go from now?' or 'What are we now?' or even 'What are _you_ going to do now?'

He had no answers. He'd spent forty-eight hours straight trying to find some sensible answer but there was none to be had. Not without telling her everything. And there was no way for him to do that. At least, he hadn't thought of a way. He somehow didn't think that coming out to her and saying, 'oh by the way I got cursed by some crazy psychic way back when' would help his case at all. It would sound like he was trying to shift responsibility when he had no intention of doing that. No, he was fully conscious of his own bad choices and their consequences. He just wasn't sure how to relay those consequences to Tessa, as to how they were her consequences now too by association. He didn't want to burden her, but wasn't he already doing so by not telling her?

He stood still for a moment gazing at the palace which gleamed like a beacon in the distance. It was night now. The night before the final match, a match he was almost certain she was in. How could she not be? Either way, she'd be asleep right now in that palace. Hopefully she'd be sleeping well and not worrying about him. He didn't want her to worry. Maybe it was time to go back. Maybe he should be there when she awoke.

The idea sounded good in theory. But he wasn't sure he trusted himself to lie in bed with her, even chastely as he once had, to watch her sleep. No there was nothing chaste left to him. That kiss had awakened new desires in him that had laid dormant for many millenniums. It'd been so long that he thought they'd withered and died. Apparently he'd been wrong on that count. He was afraid his return would rouse her, and then arouse her. He shook his head clearing the thought. But he couldn't. Deep down he knew it to be true. The kiss had done the same thing to her that it'd done to him. Had he not seen it in her eyes when she'd awoken? Yes, something had changed within her. She was no longer a girl, but a woman.

This was definitely a problem. One that he didn't know if he could deal with.

* * *

Tessa inclined her head towards Bronson as the start of the match was announced. Already it was the final match, all she had to do was defeat this one last opponent and she would be granted permission to train with the Grand Kai. He failed to return the nicety and Tessa frowned up at the gray skinned beast. There was no better word to describe him. She couldn't consider him to even be humanoid. Four arms, two legs the size of tree trunks and feral growl that sent shivers down her spine.

And as she gazed up at his eight foot frame, she couldn't help but wonder why she was even risking, maybe not life, but certainly limb fighting this thing. Maybe she should just go home. But where was that anymore? She didn't have a home. But worse still, she didn't have a reason to keep plodding on. Maybe she never had one. It had all seemed like such a good idea so very long ago. But what was the point to it anymore? And where the hell was Melon?

Two days he'd been missing and she'd soldiered on through the tournament. Now he wasn't here for the final match either. What if he never came back? Then she'd be all alone in the Otherworld and that didn't sound in the least bit appealing.

Her stomach knotted with anxiety and before she had been able to clear her mind in order to focus on nothing but the fight, the fight had begun without her. Tessa largely took a beating. Continuously pounded into the platform, mostly face down, only to be grabbed by the scruff of her gi and hauled back up to her feet to do it all over again. Her mind reeled with confusion. She couldn't begin to properly get on the defensive, let alone offensive, when it felt as if her mind was an old broken record, skipping and catching on just one thought: _Where is he?_

She was getting pulverized and her one track mind was the cause. Her anger flared and it helped to start clearing her mind. A punch came flying in towards her face and she deflected it, rolling it outward and opening up Bronson's chest for attack. She knocked him back and stood defensively trying to regain the air that had been mercilessly beaten out of her lungs. As she stood there heaving, glaring at Bronson she saw something just to his right. She blinked, her vision refocusing and she froze when she recognized Melon sitting in the front row. Her entire body relaxed, her hands dropping to her sides, as her fists loosened, her stance straightening out of its defensive crouch as she stared.

And that hesitation nearly cost her. A punch that would have normally been easily deflected caught her right across the jaw, tossing her across the platform into a crumbled heap. She pushed herself up slowly, rubbing her jaw as she gazed up at her opponent who was stalking towards her quickly. _Not good, not good, not good!_

She was still seeing stars when he grabbed her by the front of her gi, lifting her into the air and planting a knee into her stomach. She coughed up blood as she doubled over upon being dropped. A foot was planted into her ribs, and she was airborne going straight for the invisible barrier. At the last second she flared her ki able to stop herself just in time and flew straight up into the air near the top of the dome. She wiped her mouth with the back of her hand looking down at the blood that bore witness to her distraction. She couldn't afford to let that happen again.

She dove towards Bronson, energy flaring at her finger tips boosting the power of her punches. Bronson was barely moved by the attacks and she realized the only reason she'd gotten any leeway with him earlier had been because she'd surprised him. She would have to surprise him again somehow. But how when he was fully aware of her every move. He was stronger, even faster maybe.

Tessa clenched her fists allowing her ki to flare freely, glowing green and gold around her. Bronson only watched, his arms crossed over his chest waiting for the ki blast. She tilted her head slightly gazing at him, measuring him up. She could budge him with a ki blast. But she could pummel him with her fists if she pushed herself higher. She forced all other thoughts of her head, focusing on gathering her energy to its fullest. She squeezed her eyes shut, could feel the roar of her shout rumbling in her chest and like an explosion, the air pulsed out from around her.

The eyes that opened were now blue and she flew at Bronson again, this time with more success. He was on the defensive now, forced to keep up with her line of attack and partially blinded by the haze of yellow energy she emitted. She pulled back slightly, one hand being raised to the level of her chest as she looked down at Bronson. Her fingers instinctively formed the shape of a gun, her thumb hitching back. "Bang." A blast of blue energy grew and fired from the end of her index finger. It landed in Bronson's chest throwing him backwards and off the edge of the platform.

Her toes touched the platform as she lowered herself, the golden haze fading as she tried to get her breathing back under control. The adrenaline that coursed through her veins made it difficult though. She glanced at Bronson and seeing that he was fine, she forced herself to stand up straight but she was still heaving for air. It felt as if she'd been holding her breath for nearly the entire match.

Tessa marched to where she had seen Melon seated. The invisible barrier was still up and she pounded a fist against it near where he stood waiting to file out but he ignored it if he could even hear it. Stepping back, Tessa charged a ki blast in her hand and fired it so that it went off against the barrier mere inches from his ear. He and everyone near him jumped turning to stare at her. She rested her fists on her hips gazing at him alone and he paused as the spectators swarmed past him. She gestured for him to meet her near the fighter's waiting area and he nodded solemnly before turning back into the stream of moving bodies.

She sprinted around the perimeter of the dome towards the waiting area and patience not being one of her virtues; she pushed and shoved her way through the crowd in his direction. When she found him, she rushed forward and before the demon could react she had her arms wrapped around his middle from behind. "Melon-chan, don't ever leave me like that again," she said, her voice muffled as her cheek was pressed into his chest. Seeing him made winning the tournament meaningless by comparison.

He froze, his hands in midair, his head tilted slightly to the side as he gazed down at the petite Saiyan trying to catch her gaze. "I'm sorry, Tess. It wasn't my intention to make you worry."

"I don't care what your intentions were, don't ever leave me again. Promise me. I don't care why this time. I forgive you no questions asked. I won't push. Just promise you won't do it again."

"I-I can't. I need to stop making promises I can't keep."

"What's so hard about that to keep? You just don't run off and leave me again. All you have to do is take five seconds and say why first." She looked up at him blinking back the threatening tears and smiled before pressing her face back into his chest.

Melon sighed. He was unable to step forward, turn around, anything. His body was completely tethered to the ground by her grip. He leaned backwards awkwardly, her body weight throwing off his own center of balance. "Tess, please let me go."

"Never," she whispered holding him tighter.

"If you don't, we're going to fall over."

"I don't care," came the stubborn retort.

"Maybe you don't, but I do. I don't want to accidentally hurt you just because we're a mass of limbs that managed to get stuck in a crawl space between these stadium seats and a concrete wall."

"That sounds kinky," she teased as she slowly loosened her grip until he took a step back and continued to gaze down at her.

"Thank you," he sighed. "Now what's with the paranoia?" He wasn't sure what he'd expected her reaction to be, but it hadn't been this. He gripped her by the upper arms, leaning down slightly so their faces were level. He had never seen her looking so conflicted before.

Tessa looked up at him thinking about what Anya had told her in his absence and frowned. Did she question him outright about the curse? Anya had said he wouldn't tell her, that he would lie to her if pressured. She wanted to give him the benefit of the doubt—a chance to explain things his way. "I was worried about you. The way you'd walked off back there…I was afraid you'd hurt yourself."

"Or someone else?" he asked filling in what she'd really ought to be worried about. He sighed rubbing a hand across the back of his head. "I just needed some air. Some time to get back on the wagon, ok?"

Tessa nodded stiffly trying not to feel hurt that he was lying through omission of the truth. Could his curse really be so bad? "You'd tell me if something was wrong, right?"

"Tess, I've already told you what's wrong. You're a freaking powerhouse and I'm an addict without a support group to speak of." He smiled though as he rested his hand on her shoulder. "It wasn't my intention to make you worry."

"I know, you just—needed air," she sighed still feeling discouraged by his lack of honesty.

Melon gazed down at her feeling uneasy. Something about her wasn't sitting right with him. It was as if she knew something wasn't meshing in his story but she wasn't going to tell him how she knew either. "You know that I don't _want _to leave you, right? I would never leave you unless I had to." _Because I can't, and I've tried, and I've failed. It will take the power of the Kais to bind and chain me to keep me away from you._

Tessa looked up at him sideways and sighed before shaking her head. Not in a way that meant she didn't know. But in a way that seemed to say that at the moment, she didn't care. Melon felt as if his heart was breaking as he looked at her like that. Somehow he'd hurt her gravely, and the idea of doing so hurt him beyond his own comprehension.

* * *

Despite winning the tournament, Tessa had to wait her turn to train with the Grand Kai. Apparently a hundred years had not been long enough for the last winner of the tournament. But Tessa didn't mind. She was actually enjoying the less strenuous time she suddenly found on her hands. She couldn't remember the last time she'd done anything besides train. Not that she allowed herself to slack off. She would still wake up each morning, go out into the gardens and meditate before training on her own. She was afraid of becoming feeble if she became negligent of her training.

She would conclude her morning exercise with a run—around the planet. It felt good to run. She didn't run at top speed, but at a controlled pace. It seemed pointless if the run took her only a few minutes. But running at the medium pace she'd found it did burn and it took her at least an hour. Often she'd return to find Melon watching with Grand Kai as the other student trained. But not today. No one could be found out behind the palace this morning.

She bent over, her hands on her knees as she slowed her breathing before standing up and wiping the sweat from her brow by brushing it against the sleeve of her upper arm. She didn't wear her full gi when she went for her exercise like this, just the weighted boots and arm bands, the purple gi pants and purple jersey-like shirt. Anymore, her gi felt a little too formal for such menial exercises. She jogged up to the palace, weaving through the open halls towards her room and grabbed her gi, wrapping it around her before tying it off at the one side.

Melon wasn't there either. Now curious and bored, Tessa wandered throughout the palace trying to find anyone at this point. Such a large home and so few people, it felt like searching for a needle in a haystack. She'd already been searching fruitlessly for an hour when she walked across the second floor of the main lobby and looked down the main staircase to see that the Grand Kai was hosting a woman. She was moderately tall, with long straight dark hair that hung to her shoulders. She was dressed in crimson and navy, her gown flowing past the waist as deep slits were cut up each side. For some reason Tessa felt rooted to the spot, unable to look away despite knowing that it was rude. The woman was like an Amazon, something of legend she'd heard about on Earth. She felt a hand on her hip and an arm arching across her back and she turned her head to look up at him. "Who is she?" she asked.

Melon gave a one armed shrug, his face thoughtful though as he looked down with equal curiosity. "All I know is that Grand Kai sent away his last pupil this morning while you were on your run."

"Really? I hope he's not going to start training her now. I'm patient, but not that patient."

"I don't think she's here to train," Melon said, his brow creasing with concentration. "You should be able to sense that. She's looking for someone."

"Who could she be looking for here? The tournament ended weeks ago. We're the only people here," Tessa argued following Melon's gaze to look back down at the Grand Kai and the woman. "Let me guess, another woman from your past?"

Melon shook his head solemnly. "Anya was it, babe. I swear. One crazy female per millennium."

"That leaves room for two more," Tessa pointed out and Melon cast her a sideways glance before rolling his eyes.

"You count twice," he muttered causing Tessa to smirk. "Maybe you should switch some focus back to your telepathic tricks. You're getting rusty."

"I am not. And who am I to practice on? You're a broken record. It's all 'buah, buah, pretty girl,'" she said mockingly and he shook his head in amusement. "Don't worry, I don't mind a little ego boost every now and then," she said resting her head on his shoulder as she nudged his ribs with her elbow.

"Well, so long as your happy," he replied, but there was no sarcasm.

Grand Kai and the woman turned to walk further into the palace and Tessa started, bolting upright in her surprise. "Okaasan?"

She'd spoken loud enough to cause the woman to look up and before Melon could grab her, Tessa had vaulted the railing to land on the floor below in a slight crouch. She lifted her head slightly to get a better look at the woman's face before bowing it deeply as she shifted her weight into a posture of obeisance. The woman smiled warmly as she walked towards Tessa and placed a gentle hand on her head. "My Tanga-chan," she cooed running her hand down through the girl's hair. "You've grown so much." She offered Tessa a hand, bringing the girl back up to her feet.

"But how…why? Is Otoosan here too?" Tessa was nearly shaking with excitement. She'd never imagined seeing her mother again. What few memories she had of her, had all been fond ones. They had largely been before Frieza had enforced his will with an iron fist. Her mother had always represented the pinnacle of the Saiyan culture in her memories.

"Koenma offered to bring me to the tournament and when I saw you, I spoke to Grand Kai about coming to see you in person. You've become a great fighter, Tanga-chan. And I'm sure your father will want to know everything when I get back."

"I've missed you," Tessa whispered gazing up at the woman, unable to restrain herself with formalities as she rushed into the woman for a hug. She was more than glad to rest her head against her mother's chest, allowing the warm arms to envelope her.

* * *

Together, the two women walked through the garden's of the Grand Kai and Tessa found herself to just be staring. Her life as a Saiyan child had seemed so brief compared to the rest of her life. And until this moment, it had felt more like just dreams than some kind of reality. "Musume?"

Tessa blinked and smiled before bowing her head slightly. "Sorry. I was just thinking."

"Tell me about where you've been. How you've been."

"I ended up on Earth. Actually not all that long ago in the grand scheme of things. About thirty years, maybe? Anyway, this lady found me and adopted me. She was really nice. Her name was Amber Reynolds. You should meet her."

"She died?"

"Yeah…humans are far more frail than we are. She died in a car accident."

"What else about Earth?"

Tessa shrugged noncommittally. "I dunno. I grew up. I ran away. I found something I was good at and was trained."

"Who trained you?" the Saiyan woman asked with curiosity. It was hard to believe someone on Earth had the capability of honing a Saiyan's skills.

"A Namekian, named Piccolo. He's the one who told me I could get more training here in the Otherworld. So, I came to get more training and to find out more about, well, you." Tessa looked up at her mother to see that she was deep in thought, a finger pressed to her lips making them thin. "I wanted to know more about my family. To find out what happened to them after everything. I wanted to know what became of Veggie-san."

"Your brother has always been…stubborn," the Saiyan queen said after a few moments of consideration. "When he joined us in Upperworld, he insisted that you must be there too. Ever since, we haven't seen him because he went in search of you."

"Great, now I feel bad," Tessa sighed. "And of course he hasn't been able to find me because I literally was nowhere to be found all that time. Did he tell you anything else? About himself?"

"Very little, I'm afraid. I don't think he wished to talk about it. All he would say is that Frieza had been defeated, but not even by whom."

"I think I know that much. He was another Saiyan, named Goku. I think his Saiyan name was Kakkarot." The Saiyan queen shrugged indifferently. The name meant nothing to her. "Okaasan, do you think you'll be able to find Veggie-san?"

"I eventually found you, didn't I? A mother can always find her children, eventually. Just like when you two were children. I'd find you covered in dodillian pollen and petals after a clever escape from Nappa."

Tessa grinned. "I remember that too. We would go to this field and I would play while Veggie-san trained. Veggie-san was always looking out for me. He didn't want me to appear weak."

"He was a good boy, a great Saiyan in the making. It's a shame what happened to our people. He would have made for a great king."

"And what about me? I'm not asking if I would have been queen or anything, but what would my fate have been if Vegeta-sai would have survived?"

"You would have been mated to a lord or an upper class warrior. While not being the queen, you would have been your brother's advisor on all matters. You would have had greatness as well, Tanga-chan."

"So why wasn't I trained then?" Tessa asked furrowing her brows. She could remember asking as a child but it would always be fluffed off.

"You were the strongest Saiyan born in over a century. Your father and I feared that Frieza would recognize your potential and take you away from us, just as he did with Vegeta. It seems our fears were somewhat justified," she replied solemnly. "You have become a Super Saiyan."

"Yeah…I guess so," Tessa said rubbing the back of her head nervously. "I didn't really have time to process it after the final match."

The woman turned to stand in front of Tessa causing the girl to stop as she looked up into her mother's face. The woman cupped her cheeks in her hands and smiled. "You have achieved greatness beyond what we could have imagined for you. You've certainly proven yourself capable of taking care of yourself and making your own decisions."

"Now that I'm not so sure about," Tessa said shaking her head free of her mother's touch. "I'm pretty good at making bad decisions."

Tessa received a knowing smile in return as they started to walk again, circling back towards the palace. "Musume, you must have more faith in yourself. You are fated for greatness still. Your path lies before you, unknown but ready to followed."

"What does that even mean?"

"It means that you should stop doubting yourself. Do what you think is best."

"I don't know what that is. I've never really had much of a game plan, really. I came here to find out what happened to my family. Maybe my road ends here."

The queen straightened up a little and shook her head. Tessa was struck by the elegance and the imperialism of the motion. "You should use your training, your strengths, your knowledge, your love and do more. You're not ready for the Upperworld yet, Tanga-chan."

"But Okaasan…"

"Please, understand, it's a mother's intuition to know these things about her children. I know you have more to give this universe."

Tessa fell silent unable to argue with something like that. Besides, the last thing she wanted to do was argue or worse, disappoint her mother. "How did you die, Okaasan?" she asked breaking the silence that had befallen them.

The woman seemed hesitant to respond as she lowered her gaze. "It's rare, but we Saiyans occasionally contract a disease of the heart. When Frieza threatened to take you and Vegeta away from us, I grew angry to the point of a violent rage. I flew at him, and in the stress, my heart gave out. I believe that it was my final insult to that monster; that I died before he could have the pleasure in killing me himself."

Tessa was somewhat awestruck by this. Her mother had had the courage to face Frieza despite the immeasurable odds set against her. All in order to protect her children from an ill-willed fate. It had been in vain, but nonetheless it was a sacrifice for the right reasons.

"And Otoosan?"

"He died at Frieza's hand in a vain attempt at an insurgence. He and his guards boarded Frieza's ship to attack because both you and your brother had been kidnapped by Frieza's men. It was the final insult to the Saiyan people."

"I'm sorry I couldn't do anything to regain the honor of our family."

"You are. Right now, you are. You are amongst the greatest Saiyans that ever lived, and you represent your people every day that you struggle to become better yet. You embody the best qualities we had to offer. A mother could ask for no more."

"Well, I guess I'm the last though, right? After me, there's no more Saiyans. So even if I do get wished back to life, no one will remember the Saiyans."

"That's not true. You will have children and they will be Saiyans. They'll carry the royal blood and the memory of our people with them."

Tessa laughed at this idea. "Me? Children? I'm sixteen. And I haven't exactly had much luck with families and don't see myself starting to have any luck. Especially since there aren't any eligible Saiyan lords around for me to be mated to."

"You're only a few months shy of maturity by Saiyan standards. And nobody said you had to be mated to a Saiyan."

"Wouldn't that be an atrocity to the royal bloodline or something?" Tessa asked cocking an eyebrow.

"You were the second born. And it's not as if your father and I are there to make the arrangements. You're capable of making your own choices in the matter. Besides, if I'm correct that demon is more than a little attached to you."

"Melon?" Tessa asked glancing up and realized that Melon was standing on a balcony above them. Not because he was keeping tabs or trying to eavesdrop but because like any other time, he was simply drawn towards her like a piece of flint to a magnet. "He thinks we're partially mated—by accident," Tessa responded hurriedly, her words nearly slurring together in the rush.

"There are no such things as accidents when it comes to mating, Musume," her mother responded with a wink. "If a bond is successful after the transference of energy, you are bound in such a way that not even death can part you."

"You think…we're really…mated?" Tessa's voice dropped off as it caught roughly in her throat. "I'm sixteen," she repeated herself whirling to face her mother.

"A few mere months from being an adult by Saiyan standards. Just because you're a Saiyan does not mean that you can't feel love," the woman said placing a hand on Tessa's chest over her heart.

Tessa suddenly could feel her heart nearly pounding out of her chest with nervousness. She chewed her lower lip and gazed down at the ground, staring at the path that lay out before their feet. Until she'd spoken of it, she hadn't actually given it much thought in the past years. She and Melon were partially mated. Now something else had been added to the plague of thoughts, she was sixteen and he was cursed. Talk about having all odds set against you.

Seeing her daughter's silence, the Saiyan woman just smiled softly. "Musume, I know that you're frightened by this. You're allowed to be. I remember being frightened too when I realized that I was meant to be with your father. Here I was suddenly all kinds of attracted to the newly risen leader of our people. And to make matters worse, he returned those feelings. I thought I was going to be assassinated," she laughed.

"I don't think there's a line of women ready to take me out in hopes of capturing Melon," Tessa sighed. "He's cursed. But hell if I know what that means," she grumbled as an afterthought. "He won't tell me what it is even though he knows I know that something's the matter."

"Those things do not matter in comparison to the connection you feel to him. Right? You would give him the moon if it were yours to give, curse or no curse."

"Of course, but I don't think he'll take it," Tessa replied exasperated. "And besides, where is this going to go? I can't leave with him, but I'm certainly not about to leave without him." Tessa was quickly working herself up into a tizzy. She'd been penning up all of these fears for so long that it felt good to finally have someone to let them all out onto. "What if I screw it up? I could be here for a really long time and I'll always be stuck in this pubescent sixteen year old body. I may be only a few months away from adulthood, but until I leave Otherworld, I won't ever reach it. And if I leave Otherworld, I'll have to leave him. I can't have it both ways," Tessa said stoically before lowering her gaze. It was far too tempting to sneak a glance back over her shoulder to see if Melon was still watching from the balcony.

Her mother's brows furrowed at this as she grew contemplative. "I see your dilemma now. Maturity versus love."

Tessa nodded stoically. "Unless Yemma-Heika releases him, he's trapped here even though I can be wished back to life. But I'm too scared to leave him because I know if I go back, I'll be alone. I've been alone my entire life. Why did I have to die to find people who care about me?"

Her mother didn't have a response to this but gently wrapped an arm around the girl's shoulders. "Musume, what matters is that you are loved. And I'm glad someone has found you and is taking care of you. I wish I could have."


	15. Chapter 15: Yes

**Disclaimer: I do not own the Grand Kai, however, he probably in a sense owns me. Creepy!**

**I apologize for the long delay. Thanksgiving I didn't even have the internet since it crashed at my mother's house while I was visiting and now I'm hip deep in finals. Yech. Oh, and Saturday I did not get to spend it sitting at work and writing this. Nope. I got to spend it sitting at work and angrily shouting at my work computer screen for being stupid and not allowing me to order lab supplies.**

**So I also apologize if it's a little disjointed. Three weeks is a lot of time for me to change my mind quite a number of times about where and how things should be going. I think it's reflected in Tessa—a lot. We'll pretend like I did it on purpose.**

**Chapter 15: Yes**

Grand Kai permitted the Saiyan Queen to stay at the palace for a few more days so that Tessa was able to glean from her mother as much Saiyan history as she could. She learned more about the Tuffle war and Frieza. She learned about her parents' lives in private away from the court. The longer they talked about the past, Tessa gained more of a sense of who she was. Things started to make sense in her head as far as how she had been progressing with her training. She was a princess and that required her to carry herself a little differently than a normal teenage human. But being a Saiyan didn't mean she had to be cruel or harsh, at least not all the time.

She could feel time drawing short because Grand Kai was postponing the start of her training. She felt selfish wanting for her mother to stay forever but she knew it couldn't be. Finally the morning came and as Tessa awoke, she just knew. She walked the halls towards the mian foyer and in a scene nearly identical to that which reunited them, Tessa found her mother and Grand Kai talking. But this time, Melon was with them and he seemed to be awkwardly drawn into the circle as he kept his gaze lowered and his body slightly angled out.

Tessa walked down the main staircase, her gaze riveted onto the small group and frowned a she caught the words that drifted to her ears.

"It was an honor, you highness."

"Grand Kai, the honor was all mine. You've been the most gracious of hosts. And you do our family great honor by training my Tanga-chan." Grand Kai only responded with a slight inclination of his head and a smile as the Saiyan queen turned to look at Melon who stood stoically as the Saiyan queen approached him and tilted her head just slightly. "Melon, you will take care of my Tanga-chan in my absence. Make sure that no harm befalls her and tend to her heart. It is much overlooked by us Saiyans and she needs it in order to survive."

"I-I'll do my best," he said bowing at the waist, a hand wrapped across his chest. When he looked back up the woman was smiling kindly and a hand found its way beneath his chin lifting his face for her inspection.

"You are not unattractive. I can see why my daughter has fallen for you." She tilted his head this way and that, examining how the shadows highlighted his features.

"You're only seeing my better side."

"I see more than what the surface has to show, Demon. She has chosen well, I can find no fault in your pairing. You have my blessing. But if you hurt her, I will wipe your adorable face out of existence. Do you understand?"

Melon blinked, surprised by the woman's teasing harshness. He wasn't sure what to make of it. "Yes, your highness."

"Good. Now, where is my Tanga-chan?" Tessa stood at the bottom of the stairs gazing at the Saiyan queen not sure of whether or not she should be upset by the insinuations that had been made. Could it be possible that her mother knew her better than she knew herself? Because she wasn't even entirely sure how she felt about Melon so how could her mother be so certain. "Be yourself, Musume. It's the last piece of advice any mother can impart on their child."

Tessa nodded solemnly as she stood still. The Saiyan queen approached placing her hands on the girl's shoulders as she smiled. "Do you think you could find Veggie-san and tell him I'm ok?"

"Of course. I think he'll be glad to hear that. I'm afraid he's blamed himself for losing you."

"Tell him he shouldn't. And tell him I've never learned. Tell him I'm still nosy and getting into trouble where I can find it."

"I'll find a nicer way of putting it," she promised and they exchanged smiles, looking very much like mother and daughter. Together they walked outside the palace in silence and at the top of the stairs, the queen enveloped Tessa in a hug before pressing the girl's spikey hair down flat. "Goodbye, Musume."

"Goodbye, Okaasan," Tessa said quietly and bit her lip as she watched the queen depart down the stairs and disappeared along the long path leading away from the palace. She turned slowly to see that she was not standing alone anymore as both Grand Kai and Melon had joined her. After swallowing hard, she forced a smile at the Grand Kai. "I'm ready to start my training, Shihan."

"Alright, Tessa, my girl, your first task is to run around the planet twenty times."

"That's easy enough."

"At a human pace."

"That's just taxing," Tessa rebutted, her eyes narrowing as she questioned her master's choice of test.

"What are you waiting for, go…now." Tessa turned and started off at a jog glancing back over her shoulder to watch as the Grand Kai placed a hand on Melon's shoulder and led the demon away. "What would you say to some tea, hm?"

"Um, if that was going to be the first task, why didn't you have her start while your other student was still here?" Melon asked as he sat down across from the Grand Kai at a small patio set of furniture.

The Grand Kai busied himself pouring out the green tea and smiled. "Because I wouldn't have been able to give her the attention necessary to monitor her in her task."

"How much attention does it take? I mean, she's running around the planet. That should take her…nearly a year to finish twenty laps," Melon said slowly, doing the mental math.

The Kai nodded. But it's not the running that is the task. Can't you sense it? She's doubtful. She's trying to decide whether or not she should disobey me."

"And if she does?"

"I'll have to come up with another task just as tedious," the old Kai sighed. "Why do you think my training of students gets so backed up? These fighters…they don't know how to listen. They're head strong and want to do everything fast, fast, fast. I teach them to appreciate things."

"So she's supposed to be enjoying the scenery? She's been doing that since she got here."

"I'm having her do it slower," the Kai replied simply before taking a sip. "Yes, she's most definitely considering cheating," he said tapping the side of his head.

Melon gazed in the direction that Tessa had gone and frowned. The Kai was right. Tessa was in a lot of doubt right now. As well as conflicted. _Listen to him, Tess. Do as he says. _Melon looked down into his teacup and sighed. A year without Tess was going to be a long time.

"So what do you think of her fighting style, Boy?"

Melon looked up and gave a half hearted shrug. "She's very…direct."

"She's all brute strength, no style from what I saw," the Kai commented. Apparently he wasn't really in need of Melon's opinion, just wanted to see if they were of the same opinion. "She's still not quite coming into her own as a fighter despite all the training she's had so far."

"Well, she's been having an identity crisis since she became a fighter. Maybe that's the problem."

The Grand Kai nodded and smiled. "I'll have my work cut out with her. Now all I have to do is convince her that she needs the change."

"Good luck with that," Melon snorted as he drummed his fingers on the table top. "She's got a stubborn streak as long as the universe is old. I don't think she's a bucking bronco that's looking to be broken. I think she's looking to do some stomping. And I'll be honest, I'm not looking to be the one under the hooves."

"You voluntarily placed yourself there, Boy. Nobody's forced your hand."

Melon frowned before turning his head jerkily away. Nobody liked to admit to themselves that they'd set themselves up for heartache, least of all him. No, he wouldn't think about how it would feel when the hammer fell and he was sent back to Hell, very much alone but this time knowing what _it _felt like. That would make him all the more miserable for the next three thousand years and he wasn't sure he could handle that.

"You're very moody," the Kai noted before taking a long drink of his tea. Melon glanced back at him, his eyes narrowing as he watched the Kai pour himself another cup of tea. "And your moods seem to be entirely dependent on her. She's here, you're up. She's gone, you're down. I think it's a safe assumption to make, and I'm old enough to make assumptions, that you're in love."

"I know. It's a tragedy," Melon sneered. "A regular crying shame. Perhaps you'd be so kind as to put a demon out of his misery?"

The Grand Kai just smirked instead. "Far from it. I like to think of myself as a matchmaker," he said winking. "Now I know why you won't tell her, but why don't you tell me what your hangup is?"

* * *

Tessa returned from the mind numbing run and could feel pure exhaustion taking over her body. She dragged herself up the stairs of the palace past the Grand Kai who only smiled wordlessly as she headed towards her room in order to shower and sleep. Even if he had given her another task, she would have refused it until she could rest. She went through the motions nearly zombie-like and fell into the bed face first. After a few minutes she shifted so that her back was straighter and more comfortably aligned and sighed as her cheek was pressed against the cool cotton.

One year. She'd spent an entire year doing nothing but running at a jog. That was time she couldn't get back. Get back for what though? Did it matter? It was just one more year after twenty. Seemed minor by comparison. Her hand clenched slowly as she reopened her eyes. Her mother thought that she should keep training even if she didn't know to what end yet. She wasn't satisfied with that though. She needed to find a purpose to justify all of this. Tomorrow she would pound it all out, she resolved.

She rolled over onto her side and closed her eyes once more, unaware of the fact that Melon stood in the doorway watching her as she fell asleep. Taking a deep breath, he crossed the room and lay down beside Tessa so that her back was to him and he gazed at her longingly over her shoulder. He ran his gloved hands through her wild hair brushing it back from her face before he let his fingers trail down along her jaw line and she shifted ever so slightly in her sleep. He held his breath as she rolled over to face him, his hand now cupping her cheek.

"Melon?" she whispered half asleep, her eyes fluttering open. His resolve broke and he inclined his head forward brushing his lips against hers. She sighed as she pressed herself against him reciprocating the gesture, her eyes closing as she tried to focus on the sensations and convince herself it wasn't a dream. That was hard to do when she was already falling back asleep.

But she could feel the warmth of his lips along her neck, the moistness of his tongue and she let out a soft pleasurable moan. Why was she falling asleep? Did she not want this more than anything? She willed herself to stay awake but it was too strong for her to fight.

Melon sighed as he pulled away as her breathing changed from the ragged bursts into the calm rhythm of sleep. Looking down at her he knew it was wrong of him but it had been different this time. There was no outburst of energy consuming him, only a peaceable calm that settled over him instead. No, he had not done it for energy, but for mere want of her. And that is what he'd gotten from it. Apparently he was capable of taking different aspects of ki.

He pressed his lips to hers again, but they were cold once more and he wished he could put it back. He wanted to give her back the warmth of life but he could not do so without becoming permanently bonded to her. There was no way for him to purely separate her ki from his anymore. She had become too great a part of himself for that.

He settled his head into the pillow, his arms still wrapped around her and even in deep nearly unconscious sleep, she had a tight grip on him. He gazed upon her face for a few moments longer before allowing himself to close his eyes and fell asleep for the first time holding her in his arms.

When Tessa woke up the next morning she found herself gazing into Melon's sleeping face. She'd never seen him sleeping before. He would lie awake beside her at night and secret away to sleep during the day. Apparently he liked privacy while _he_ slept. So this was a rare opportunity for her to watch him sleep.

His one arm rested heavily over her hip, the other pillowing her head still in the embrace that'd seemed so dreamlike in quality the night before. She watched her own breathing, keeping it in line with his hoping that it would minimize her movement and not wake him. In this light, his skin was more closely blue than pink and she smiled. She'd never tell him, but she thought his demon form to be beautiful and not terribly fearsome. Blond curls fell messily across his forehead and she was tempted to wind the silken hair around her fingers. By comparison, her hair was stiff, almost brittle and the opportunity to touch his hair never seemed to present itself.

She leaned forward slightly, raising her hand to his head, hovering over his hair when his eyes opened. "Good morning," he said huskily and she sheepishly lowered her hand.

"Morning," she whispered. "Go back to sleep."

He smirked a little at her suggestion and shook his head a tiny bit. "Why? Do you want to take advantage of me?" He was gradually becoming more awake and feeling better after a good night's sleep. Something he hadn't had in a long time.

"The thought hadn't crossed my mind, but now that you mention it…" He pressed a gloved finger to her lips hushing her and chuckled. She nipped his finger gently and began to remove his glove. He remained still watching her with curiosity as she inspected his hand carefully, running her thumbs across the lines of his palm, gently pulling on the finger tips. As long as he kept his breathing even, he was ok. He could handle this. "Your hands are so warm."

"You sound surprised. You already knew that."

She nodded pressing her lips to his palm for a brief moment before continuing her gentle massaging actions. "I've just always thought you'd be cold to the touch. It's a nice surprise to find out that you've got a warm heart beating in there somewhere."

"I don't know about that," he retorted tossing his head a little. When he met her gaze again the playfulness has disappeared.

Mentally, Tessa steeled herself for what she was about to do. "Melon-kun, I want you to answer me honestly."

Melon snapped fully awake now, surprised by her taunt voice and nodded slowly. He had a good idea what this was going to be about. "I may not be able to answer all of your questions though."

"I'll keep them to yes and no questions. That way you won't tell me anything I haven't already guessed at." He hesitated for a moment and then nodded. "Are you cursed?"

Melon blinked surprised that she'd leaped to the heart of the problem so quickly. "Yes."

"Did Anya curse you?"

Melon frowned. Apparently Anya had not really left but had merely waited to see him leave first. Damn that woman and her meddling. She must be set out to ruin his existence for the rest of time. "Yes."

"Did you kill her?"

"By accident," Melon replied, his blue eyes were now piercing Tessa's gaze and her courage was wavering.

"Does your curse have to do with me?" Melon didn't have a proper response for this. It was too difficult to qualify with a simple yes or no. "Let me rephrase that," she said seeing his consternation. "Could it hurt me?"

"Yes."

"Will you let it?"

"I don't want to. I can't promise though."

Tessa just nodded in understanding. "Do you love me?" she asked feebly, afraid of his answer.

Melon's face suddenly lightened. He wasn't sure if it was because the worst of her questions had passed or not. "Yes." She smiled before burrowing her head into his chest, pulling his arms around her as she sighed contentedly. After a while he stroked her hair causing her to lift her head slightly. "Aren't you going to train?"

"There's time later. I'd rather be here right now."

* * *

Tessa stood in the shower gritting her teeth and avoiding the urge to kick and scream. Two whole years she'd spent toting buckets of water literally around the planet from one well to another under the belief that she wasn't finished until she'd emptied one and filled the other. Finally after two years, Grand Kai had interrupted her and told her that it was a pointless venture—the two wells were one, drilled straight through the planet. She'd made a few more trips out of frustrated disbelief only to finally collapse to her knees in front of the far well. She couldn't understand why he was wasting her time with needless tasks.

A knock on the door broke her thoughts and she instinctively answered, "Come in."

The door opened and then closed again only for her to hear Melon step back into a wall and give a surprised cry. "Y-you're naked."

"I'm also wet," Tessa deadpanned. "What did you expect? I'm in the shower."

"You could have said something."

"I assumed you could put two and two together from the closed door and running water. Don't act so scandalized. It's not like you can see anything."

"I'm sorry…I was just trying to catch you before you fell asleep."

"Well, you did it. What's so important that it can't wait?"

"Another two years?" he said finishing the thought. He paced the bathroom slowly, uncomfortable with the idea of talking directly to the closed and misty doors of the shower. "I wanted to talk about what we were talking about before."

"You're going to have to jog my memory because apparently you've been obsessing over it for two years but I haven't," she replied coolly. Luckily he couldn't see her face to realize that she was lying through her teeth. She wasn't prepared for more run around on the subject of his curse. She had hoped that after two years she'd be able to let that part simmer but all it had done was come to a boil. She snapped off the water and Melon flinched as the glass door slid to the side some. But all that emerged was her tail which hooked around a towel before disappearing back into the steam. A few moments later the door opened the rest of the way and Tessa stepped out with the towel wrapped tightly around her torso. "What is it Melon?"

"I-I told you that I loved you."

She blinked as she looked up at him. She hadn't quite been expecting this. A part of her wanted to dance and grab him and hold him while the other half of her wanted to grab him and throttle him. She was afraid that this might be his new avoidance scheme.

"You haven't told me how you feel," he said finally when he never got a response. He was flushed and his lips were drawn thin as he watched her for any type of reaction but she betrayed none as she stepped past him. "Tess…" Melon followed her quickly and she paused heaving a sigh before turning back to face him.

"Do you think I could get dressed? I have more training to do." She planted her fists on her hips and tapped her foot with agitation as she looked back at him. It was her turn to be avoidant on a subject. She had been too distracted by his mysterious curse for the past two years thinking of every worst thing she could that she hadn't given a thought to her own feelings about him. Now he wanted answers from her and she didn't have them. Couldn't he tell she wanted his first?

"You're not going to rest first?" he asked in surprise.

"No. Why? Are you going to kiss me and force me to sleep?"

"I wouldn't…"

"You did," she accused and he frowned. She couldn't read whether that meant guilt, shame, or possibly both. "Don't treat me like I'm stupid, Melon. I know, ok?"

"I'm sorry. Sometimes I can't control it. It's why I wear these," he said holding up his gloved hands. "It's why I'm struggling with this."

"And that's why I'm going to train. I'm not going to tempt you again so soon. I'll give you another two years, or five, or twenty, to get back on your wagon and stay there." The words came out far more hurtful than she'd intended and as soon as she could see the hurt flash across his face she regretted it.

"I should go," he said quietly as his gaze shifted down.

"Melon…don't. I didn't mean it like that…"

"Then how did you mean it, Tess? Five minutes ago, I'm telling you that I love you. Now you're telling me to not come near you. I don't think you know what you're asking me to do," he sighed in exasperation as he ran a hand back through his hair.

"You're right, I don't. That's why I didn't mean it," she said tiredly, pressing a hand to her forehead. She closed her eyes and sighed, her hand tightening around the top of the towel as she could feel her heart pounding uncomfortably.

"No, you meant it. I just don't think you're hearing the words coming out of _my _mouth. I. Love. You. I don't want to leave you, but if that's what I have to do, then I'll do it. Because that's what's best for you."

"What about what's best for you?"

"There is no such thing as 'best for me'," Melon said calmly.

"You need to stop acting as if you don't matter," she replied shaking her head a little. "And I do need to get going, so…"

"I'll leave you be."

"Still be here when I get back, ok?" she asked. She chewed her lower lip to keep it from trembling as she realized that he might leave her again, and this time it wouldn't be for just two days.

"Why?" he snorted.

"Because you love me," she said meekly. "And maybe by then I'll have a response to that."

His eyes flickered back towards her face to see that it was now her who was gazing at the floor boards nervously. He forced himself to turn and leave the room and once outside he leaned back against the wall sighing. He hadn't been entirely sure what his great plan was intended to do. All he'd hoped for was getting some kind of reply to 'I love you' and instead he got an 'IOU' for the next time she could spare a minute to talk.

He knew he wouldn't be able to forget either how her words had bit when she'd accused him correctly of stealing her energy the last time they'd kissed. Right then and there he could have admitted that it was how every touch would be from him, but he hadn't. He'd tried to fluff it off as an accident, something unforeseen. He'd lied to her. He leaned his head back and growled with frustration before quickly turning down the hall. He dared not speak to her again so soon.

* * *

"I have something different in mind for you this time, Tessa. A friend of mine, he's the Grand Kai for a different galaxy, has a planet with far more…interesting terrain. I think it would be best if you went to train on his planet."

"What? Why?"

"Have you ever fought anywhere besides the tournaments?"

"Um…no, not really," Tessa admitted softly as she hung her head.

"What do you think the fight against Frieza was like? Do you think it had rules? Do you think it had boundaries and a nice solid platform to fight upon?" he asked kindly but the words still seemed harsh. Like a slap for not being as experienced a fighter as she ought to have been by now.

"I don't know what Namek was like," she replied.

"It was 95% water. And what land there was, rose up in cliffs. A relatively unforgiving environment for fighting. You must learn to be adaptable to your environment. And the only way to do that is to learn your own rhythm. Right now you lack that rhythm when fighting. You fight with pure force and hope to simply overpower your opponent. You need to learn to use your opponent's strengths against him…"

"I need to become adaptable," Tessa said cutting him off. "How long?"

"I think five years of survival training ought to do the trick. And you should make sure to challenge yourself every day. Taking it easy will do you no good," he warned.

"I understand," she said nodding earnestly. She took a deep breath and set her expression to that of acceptance. She turned her head slightly to see that Melon was watching from above but he made no sound or argument as the Grand Kai led her away. Perhaps he too had accepted that their time together had its limitations now.

* * *

Tessa slid down the side of the mountain, her feet digging ruts into the fine dirt as she leaned her body back to counteract the effects of gravity. Gravity was working hard to pull her away from the steep slope and send her soaring head first through the air. But she trailed a hand back through the dirt, using it like a rudder to steer her descent. The slope suddenly came out upon a flat rock and she lost her footing as they skidded to a stop beneath her and physics took over, launching her body forward. She caught herself in the air and frowned as she righted herself and rose back up higher on the side of the mountain. When she dropped, she began the same descent once more, this time her feet pointing more down so that when she hit the rock shelf she was prepared to start running. She sprinted across the shelf and jumped off its edge and continued to skid her way down. Finally she leaned all the way back until she was on her haunches and she slowed to a stop near the base of the mountain.

Four years had passed and she'd learned to fly with her eyes closed without hitting mountains or cliffs, she'd learned to keep her feet beneath her, she'd learned to defeat opponents whether it was for survival or food, but she had not spared one thought to the issue of Melon. How she'd managed to keep her mind busy for so long, she didn't know. It was time to start sparing a few thoughts because she could bet on him wanting an answer when she got back. And she certainly didn't have an excuse as to why she shouldn't have one.

* * *

Tessa returned to the Grand Kai's palace and found Melon waiting for her, lounging on the front steps as he leaned back on his elbows with his head turned upwards and his eyes closed. "Why am I not surprised that you're the first to greet me?"

"You look like hell," he murmured cracking one eye open. "But I assumed as much, so I thought I'd bring you a new gi." He made a nodding motion towards the pile of folded clothes lying on the step beside him and she smiled gratefully before plopping down beside him. "By the Kais, you smell too," he said wrinkling up his nose before laughing.

"Thanks, nice to see you too," she muttered using the clothes to bat him before rolling her eyes.

He pushed himself up to sit properly and grinned boyishly as he leaned towards her slightly. "I love you," he said smirking and Tessa ducked her head a little.

"I know."

That certainly had not been the answer he'd been hoping for let alone near the realm of what he'd expected. "Huh?" His brow wrinkled in his confusion as he looked down at her.

"I said, 'I know.' I believe you," she replied looking up. "I know I haven't believed a lot of what you've said before, but I do now because I realize that you wouldn't lie or exaggerate simply because you _do _love me." He blinked gazing down at her and she took a deep breath and bit her lower lip hesitantly before continuing. "And there's something Okaasan said that I'm not sure I'm ready to believe yet. So in the mean time, I'm not sure how I love you. I know that I care about you deeply, but that's a familial love. But there's this part of me that gets butterflies—still gets butterflies—when I look at you."

"Do you have those butterflies now?"

Tessa nodded meekly as she bowed her head again. "It's silly, I know. But it's not the same stupid school girl crush I used to have. It's complicated," she said running her hands through her hair as she sighed.

Melon chuckled at this. "Complicated. Yes, that sounds about right." He leaned forward, clasping his hands between his knees as his expression grew pensive and he gazed vacantly over the gardens before them. "But it's those complications that mean I'll never stop caring about you, Tess. I'll always be there for you when you need me."

She reached over placing a hand on his knee and he glanced up, tilting his head just slightly. "And I'd like to say that I'll always be there for you too. But something tells me that you don't want that from me."

"I don't. I want you to worry about you. I've taken care of myself this long; I think I can keep on handling it."

"But when you do that, you're pushing me away. Whatever it is, Melon, I can help. Just let me in."

He shook his head stoically and forced a smile. "Believe me when I tell you that there's nothing about it for you to do, except get hurt. And since I don't want that, I'd like to protect you from it instead."

"What is it? What's this curse of yours that's so terrible?"

Melon forced a smile as he leaned his face in towards hers. "Believe me, it's a lot worse than just temptation."

"Temptation can be good," Tessa replied trying to sound seductive while also chewing her lip which gave away her nervousness in far more resounding tones. Melon just snorted.

He stood up stretching his arms up over his head for a brief moment before offering her a hand up. She took it and hugged the new gi to her chest as she gave him a sideways look. But he just wrapped his arm around her shoulders and led her back inside without any more comments on the matter. More omissions of the truth from him, more soul searching for her. It seemed unfair.


	16. Chapter 16: Anything but Goodbye

**Disclaimer: I cannot be held responsible for any concussions suffered by my characters due to me beating my head off a brick wall.**

**OMG…Writer's Block. I've had half of this chapter prewritten for ages. Unfortunately, it was the last half and I had no idea how to get to the last half. I needed a beginning and was totally lagging in one. You'll see why I couldn't just be like, eh, shortie, just a middle and end to this chapter. It'd be cruel. You'd hate me even more than you do now for taking so long to update.**

**Chapter 16: Anything but Goodbye**

Tessa stretched her arms up over her head before glancing back over her shoulder at Melon. "You realize we've been together longer than most people are married?"

"Huh?" His head lifted lazily as if he'd been pulled out of his thoughts as he blinked. "What do you mean?"

"I mean that most people are only married for a few years and then divorce. We've been together going on nearly sixty years. That's an entire lifetime."

"That should be on average then for most marriages," Melon said narrowing his eyes.

"Wow, what century are you coming from? The time I'm from, the time you visited, people get married, have a kid and realize it's just not working and divorce. Almost all the marriages are belly up before a decade's out," Tessa chuckled. "You and me, we gotta be more like the Odd Couple or something because nobody can stand each other as long as we have."

"The time that I'm from people stay married until death parts them. They may have problems but they work through them. Even if they grow to hate each other."

"That sounds more like torture to me," Tessa chirped. "Why do it?"

"Because it's the expectation. Because it's the promise that you made."

"How long ago was that?"

"When I was human."

"You were human?" she asked coming to a sudden stop as she turned to look at him.

He blinked and tilted his head. "Yes, I was human once. I thought I told you that."

"If you did, you just sort of slipped it in there unnoticed. But I'm fairly certain you've never once mentioned being human before. When were you human?"

"A very long time ago. Before you were even a thought in your mother's head, Tess."

"Which mother?"

"Biological," Melon sighed closing his eyes. "It's been about three thousand years give or take a century." He reopened his eyes to see that Tessa was now very close staring at him with avid curiosity, her eyes searching his face before refocusing on his eyes.

"I guess that makes sense. You look human. I don't know why I didn't come to the conclusion myself. I just thought you were a demon from the start. So what'd you do to become a demon?"

"I already told you once," he responded giving her a pointed look and she leaned her head back just slightly before nodding.

"Oh yeah. You killed, Anya, right? That's a harsh policy. You'd think Hell would be overridden with demons if everyone who ever killed somebody was made one. Imagine all the people who've ever killed just once out of passion who are now demons. That's a long list! You'd think it'd be reserved for the Ted Bundys and Son of Sams."

"Who and who?" Melon asked quizzically.

"Serial killers. They're not demons? I thought you'd know _them _at least."

"Demons aren't picked based on how much bad you've done but what potential you have. My little gift makes for quite the asset as a demon," Melon said wiggling his fingers and Tessa sharply inhaled a breath of air. "What? Did I finally scare you?"

"No. Why would I be scared of you?" she huffed indignantly. "Ever since I've known you I haven't seen you capable of hurting so much as a fly. Well, there was that time you tried to kill me, but..." she waved her hand dismissively. "No, it just dawned on me that it'd be like selecting for the tennin, right? Demons are picked for their abilities just like the tennin are."

"Yeah...but I, I can hurt a fly," Melon said defensively. "And it wasn't just Anya..."

"Now you're just trying to spook me," Tessa said rolling her eyes. "It won't work. Although I am curious. So Mr. Big Bad Demon, what else did you do so terrible?"

"I killed people."

"On purpose or by accident?"

"By accident," he muttered and Tessa chuckled as she turned and started to walk away. "Come back here," he hissed going after her. "I'm not done."

"I think you'd best quit while you're ahead, Mr. Scary Face," Tessa teased.

Melon growled and obliged her as he transformed back into his demon form and grabbed her by the elbow spinning her around. "Why aren't you scared of me? What makes you so unafraid of me when you really, _really_ ought to be?"

"You told me you loved me," she shrilled in her surprise at his sudden roughness more so than the harshness of his appearance. But her voice calmed as he made no further move. She blinked stoically before glancing down at his hand wrapped around her arm and then looked back up at his face. "I'm not scared because you can't do anything to me. Not here at least."

Melon frowned as he let her arm go and crossed his arms over his chest. "That's a good point. We need to get you back to Earth. Being here isn't good for you."

"What are you talking about? Being here is perfect for me. Everyone I know is here--somewhere. Even the people I knew on Earth would be here by now. There's nothing for me there."

"There's life there. And you need to be living, Tess. You aren't meant to be sixteen forever. You're supposed to be growing up, not just growing old."

"I am not old," she muttered.

"But you are old," he replied. "It just doesn't show on the outside or even in your maturity. Your age is merely reflected in your knowledge."

"How did this turn around to being about me?"

"Because you need to be scared, Tess. You need to be scared that you aren't where you need to be, even if you refuse to be scared of me."

"I. Don't. Do. Scared," she said through clenched teeth while jabbing a finger into his chest. "And besides, I'm learning a lot here and the fact that I can put my life on pause in order to do it is all the better."

"It's not paused though, Tess. Time is still passing; you're just not aging. And there are certain aspects of life you can't experience here, despite all the training in the universe."

"Like what?" she countered as she mirrored his posture and crossed her own arms over her chest. "I'm learning plenty."

"Love," he replied simply. "It's why you still haven't made up your mind about me even after another forty years."

"Then tell me why you have?"

"Because I learned to love before I died, Tess, before I became a demon. There are just certain things you can't learn in Otherworld. It's why you're still impatient and reckless and stubborn."

Tessa opened her mouth and closed it again without uttering a sound. She had no defense against those claims. Finally, like a streak of light flashing across her vision, something occurred to her. "Who did you love before?" she asked narrowing her eyes.

"Anya," Melon sighed and let his arms drop before gently brushing past Tessa. She quickly followed though, dogging his steps and though she said nothing more he could feel her eyes boring into the back of his head. He sighed and tried to think of the right words. "You've seen her; she's pretty, beautiful really," Melon started and it elicited a jealous growl from Tessa before she could catch herself. "I was a fighter and traveling on my own. We crossed paths and I was immediately smitten with her. She didn't want anything to do with me. So I decided to prove myself worthy. I fought everyone who would challenge me, and I used my powers to take what was theirs and make it mine. Anya saw me for what I was and I couldn't bear it."

"So you killed her because if you couldn't have her then no one could?"

Tessa was behind Melon and couldn't see his pained expression that gave away the truth. "Yeah," he replied softly as his hands found their way back into his pants pockets.

To his surprise, Tessa's arm wrapped itself around his as she leaned gently on his shoulder. "You should consider yourself damned lucky then," she muttered somewhat begrudgingly. She was still feeling miffed about the idea of Melon caring about someone else before her. He glanced down at her, an eyebrow arching into his hair line as she scuffed her feet a little. "I see you for what you are and don't think less of you." She kept her gaze lowered for a few moments longer before looking up and smiled brilliantly. "Besides, I'm prettier and smarter than she is."

"Not nearly as humble though," he murmured trying not laugh.

* * *

More time passed and while some things changed, much remained the same. Tessa still found herself fighting an internal struggle as to her feelings towards Melon. Somedays would pass in which she wanted nothing more than his embrace or kiss, while years could pass in which she would be content merely walking in his presence as friends. Whenever she did start to think about it, it was all the more frustrating than when he'd occaision to point it out.

She had successfully trained with three out of four of the supreme kais, learning to master traditional weapons as well as use her environment fully to her advantage. She could only eagerly await whatever training the Supreme Kai of the East would have for her.

"You know, it's a good thing you're almost done training," Melon spoke, causing Tessa's head to snap up. "You're running out of room on your back."

"Am I?"

"Yeah. Typically happens after you've trained with about a dozen people."

"It hasn't been a dozen people."

"You're right; one alien and thus far eight deities. My mistake," he replied winking.

She smiled prettily up at him. "And luckily despite the ages that have passed, I've maintained my youthful beauty."

He just shook his head knowing better than to go down that road again. "Just be careful that you don't mature to a grandmotherly level before you're even through puberty."

Tessa linked her arm through Melon's and leaned on his shoulder, glancing away. Yet another reminder that she was still fourteen living months away from reaching adulthood. She was sick and tired of puberty and its hormonal imbalances. "I'm fine. Promise."

"Who are you and why do you dare disturb my master?"

Tessa spun, surprised to hear a third party's voice from behind them when she had not noticed anyone else's presence. She had thought they were still a good distance away from reaching the Supreme Kai of the East's quarter of the planet. "We mean no harm, I'm here to request training from the Supreme Kai of the East, are you him?" The man's expression soured and Tessa quickly turned properly, releasing her grip on Melon. "I am but a humble fighter."

"There is no such thing."

"I'd beg to differ," she started before a much shorter man appeared stepping out from behind the man who had originally spoken. By comparison they were near opposites, the first being very large and overbearing, while the second was almost childlike in his appearance, as he was far shorter, and his features were boyish.

The second man smiled warmly but shook his head in disagreement. "A humble Saiyan would be a sight to be seen. And you are by far the humblest, but you cannot fight genetics, my dear."

"I, um, are either of you the Supreme Kai?"

"I am," the youngest spoke.

"Sir, I must protest. She obviously means to cause problems…"

"Kibito, I believe her. She seems rather innocent."

"She travels with a demon, sir."

"I can see that. And trust me; my decision is based almost entirely on my fascination in their pairing." Melon and Tessa exchanged glances and shrugged. It certainly was not the first time that they'd peaked interest. "So tell me," the Supreme Kai asked, "What is it you wish to learn from me?"

Tessa gazed down at her hands folded in front of her for a moment and frowned. "I suppose whatever it is that you can teach me, sir."

"You wish to learn for knowledge sake? You chose the wrong field. You can go to a university for that. You don't need to die."

"I can't explain it sir, it's just something I need to do. I need to discover who I am."

"You are a Saiyan, a warrior."

"Thus why I must fight!"

"But to what end?"

"I don't know," she replied confused. "Everyone else is dead." No one had ever questioned her motives before now. It was difficult to answer his questions when she wasn't even entirely sure herself why she was doing what she was doing.

"What if they weren't?"

"But they are. They died thousands of years ago. My brother was one of the last—second to last."

"So you fight for your brother's honor?"

"I don't know what good that does him or me. Nobody liked him."

"Who was your brother?" Supreme Kai asked exchanging a look with Kibito. But their gazes differed—Kibito was concerned, Supreme Kai was all the more curious.

"Vegeta, Prince of the Saiyans."

"What is your name?"

"Tessellation Reynolds. Tanga. Take your pick," she sighed.

"Sir, you cannot consider training this girl any further," Kibito burst before the Kai could raise his hand in silence.

"You're the Saiyan Princess. Even we lost track of what happened to you." The Kai chuckled to himself as he moved to stand in front of Tessa and offered her a hand. She took it after a few moments and even at her height, she was taller than him and had to look down into his face. "You had your entire childhood stolen from you by Frieza. I'm sure you wish to regain some sense of family, of your heritage, thus your blind faith that training will give you that."

"It's not blind faith! I know he's dead. I know that I'll never see him, never get to know the man that he became. I just want to learn more about who I am. Who I was meant to be."

"Who you are belongs in eras long gone, so ancient that they've been erased from the history books."

"And not even the rulers of the universe remember enough to help me fill in the blanks," Tessa sighed.

"Your brother died heroically on Namek, stalling Frieza and giving Goku the time and inspiration he needed in order to win the fight."

"So I've heard. But no one can tell me anything about him. Not really. They can't tell me if he ever fell in love or what his favorite food was. He's my brother; I want to know him, not of him."

"And that is a noble purpose, well worth training for. We should start immediately." The Supreme Kai turned away from her and Tessa glanced back at Melon who only smiled and nodded supportively.

* * *

"Did you read too many fantasy stories growing up?"

"I don't think I understand," Supreme Kai said gazing up at Tessa as she continued to stare at the sword stuck in the side of the mountain.

"Honestly, sir, if you yourself are unable to remove the sword, what makes you think this mere mortal is capable of it?" Kibito asked.

"I'm not mortal. I've been immortal for going on a hundred years now," Tessa snapped.

"There's a difference between immortal and dead," Kibito sneered. He smirked as he crossed his arms over his chest seeing the rise he'd gotten of Tessa.

"I have faith in her. That is all I believe to be required."

Tessa stepped forward, touching the hilt of the sword with her fingertips before wrapping her hand tightly around it. She was prepared to exert all of her strength into extracting the sword when it began to slide out easily. She drew it out fully before holding it parallel to the ground out to her side. "That was almost too easy. What's the catch?" Tessa asked gazing down at the Supreme Kai.

"No catch. You were able to draw the Z Sword." The Supreme Kai looked amazed as he stood gazing at the sword in her hand.

"Right. Now what do I do with it? Your friends have already trained me in sword fighting. Do you have more to offer on the topic?"

"No. I know nothing of sword training."

"You just wanted me to pull the sword out for you, didn't you?" The Supreme Kai looked mortified at the accusation but was unable to deny it. "What's so special about it anyway, aside from the fact that it was stuck in a rock for a very long time, weighs about a ton, and would probably hurt a lot if you were struck with it."

"That may actually be it," Supreme Kai said gazing at the sword still being held easily to her side. "You don't find it heavy?"

"Yes and no. Heavier than a feather, lighter than my clothes."

"You wear weighted clothes?"

"Yes, of course. It makes me stronger. In a fight, I could shed them and be even faster."

Melon cleared his throat as he watched the pair continue to stand about. "What do you say we test the sword?" he asked raising an eyebrow.

"Huh? Oh yes, of course." With a wave of his hand, the Kai had produced a large block of wood.

"Really? That's what we're gonna test this baby on? It's not an axe," Tessa joked. Another flick of his wrist and the wooden block disappeared and replaced by a heavy looking block of dark metal. "What's that?"

"The densest material in the entire universe, katcheen."

"Nice. That's more like it." Tessa moved forward, preparing to bring the sword down on the block in a sweeping motion, only to have Melon grab her wrist and yank her to a stop. "What?"

"What if you break it? I doubt the sword is also made of katcheen," Melon argued releasing her wrist.

Tessa looked to the Supreme Kai for his opinion and he looked like a little kid who'd just been denied his favorite TV show. "I think he wants me to anyway," Tessa hissed making a slight nod towards the Kai for Melon's sake. He glanced over his shoulder at the Kai and stepped back hesitantly. Tessa wound up again and brought the sword clanging down on the block. It vibrated violently causing Tessa to drop it as she tried to steady her arms, and as it fell, it fractured from the vibrations. Her jaw dropped as she stared at the broken sword and turned quickly to begin apologizing emphatically for destroying the sword mere minutes after rescuing it from the mountain.

"…there's no way I could have known and besides you told me…why are you staring past me?" Tessa turned slowly to gaze over her shoulder and saw that standing on top of the broken sword was an ancient looking version of the Supreme Kai. "Who are you supposed to be? Daikaioh?"

"Who? Hell no! I'm Elder Kai…his ancestor," the wrinkled old man pointed a finger at the Supreme Kai and everyone turned to stare as the Supreme Kai who looked astounded.

"Sir, do you know this man?" Kibito asked quietly, his gaze shifting back to the old man.

Tessa continued to stare at the man who stared just as intently back. "And who are you, missy? Please tell me you're here to give me a good kiss."

"Oh God no!" She quickly moved back and stepped around behind Melon so that she was peering out from under his arm.

"Trapped in a sword for a couple of millennium and rejected for the first decent interaction I request."

"Decent! Asking a stranger to lay one on you is far from decent!" Tessa protested. Melon chuckled as he glanced over at Tessa as she continued to use him as a human shield against the old man.

"Please? I haven't seen anything as pretty as you since I was your age."

"And fortunately, I may not see anything as hideous as you until I am your age," she whined.

"You've seen my true form," Melon whispered playfully and Tessa gazed up at him, blinking dumbly for a moment and shook her head.

"You're quite handsome by comparison, even in your true form."

It was Melon's turn to be surprised but he recovered as he reached around to pull Tessa out from behind him. "Sir, she's just excitable. I'm sure she's meant no disrespect, but you did surprise us all. As Elder Kai, I'm sure that you have much _wisdom_ you could share," Melon said with emphasis as he flicked Tessa's ear hoping that's she'd straighten out.

"Ha! Share wisdom with that tart. I don't care how perky looking she is. And if she can't even ask for herself, I'm not willing to impart nothing on her."

"So you do have something to impart? Some inkling of knowledge?" Tessa queried as she found herself eyeing up the old man more closely.

"Inkling! You wish, chickie. I could unleash your maximum potential just like that," the old man said snapping his fingers.

Tessa gazed at him, nearly drooling with the idea. "You really can?"

The Elder Kai grinned wickedly seeing that he'd peaked her interest and was prepared to keep drawing her in. "But I won't do it without payment."

Tessa quickly snapped back realizing just where this was going. Her second instinct was then to lunge herself at the old man to throttle him. It took both Melon and Kibito to wrestle her back long enough for her senses to return. "What payment?" she growled, Melon still keeping a tight grip on both of her arms, pinning them behind her back.

"A kiss. And not just some peck like you'd give your granpappy. A real one, chickie. Remember, I've been locked up a little too long in that sword."

"And my releasing you has no affect on your demands, does it?"

"You gonna entrap me again? 'Cause if you ain't then you don't have any bargaining chips there."

"Maybe," she muttered. "Okay, let's just…" Tessa took a deep sigh and closed her eyes, "get this over with." She kept her eyes squeezed shut not wanting to watch as the old man brought his face closer to her own. It took everything in her power to not immediately wretch or pull away when she felt the wrinkled face press on her own. Finally, he pulled back and she snapped her head to the side trying to spit incognito.

"Kissing you is like kissing a dead fish," the old man proclaimed. "I may have been better off in the sword if all you chickies are this bad at kissing." Once again, Tessa had to be restrained from attacking the old man as she went to claw out his eyes. "But at least you have nice tits."

This last comment illicited a howl as she lunged forward causing Kibito to lose his grip and Melon had no choice but grip one of his gloves in his teeth before pressing his hand to the side of her face. Almost immediately, Tessa went to her knees, partly in surprise, but also because it felt like a mac truck had hit her and knocked the air out of her chest. He finally released his grip and calmly put the glove back on as she gazed up at him dumbly. "I'm sorry. But I'm not going to stand by and allow you to attack a deity. It's severely frowned upon and Hell isn't very nice this time of year."

"That's a neat trick, boy. Bet you get all the girls to bend to your will that way."

"Not all girls," Melon muttered. He offered Tessa a gloved hand and she accepted it and fell into his arms for support. She continued to stare at him trying to figure out what exactly he meant on top of what had just happened. "I'm sorry, okay?"

"Okay." She blinked again before gazing at the old man. "Now, are you going to hold up your end of the deal?"

"Depends. Think you're capable of standing on your own two feet for five hours?"

"Of course!"

"Not…" Melon hissed. "You need to rest. I took a little too much off the top if you will."

"Please, allow Kibito and I to fix that," Supreme Kai said gently. "If you'll lie down, it'll be easier." Melon laid Tessa down on the grass and gently brushed her hair out of her face, before brushing his fingers over her eyes, closing them. Supreme Kai and Kibito stood on either side of her, holding their hands palm down over her. Tessa was struck by the sensation of being submerged in warm, calming water.

"Now, what was this about standing still?" she asked pushing herself back up to lean on one elbow.

* * *

Tessa stood stock still staring at the old man as he paced around her in a tight circle and she severely dislike the part where he seemed to be intently staring at her breasts—small as they were.

Melon stood aside with Supreme Kai and hooked an eyebrow as he watched before turning to speak. "Do you know what he's doing?"

"Not a clue," Supreme Kai murmured. "I've never heard of it."

"I'm trying to pry out his intentions, and they're severely mixed. There's obviously lust," Melon shuddered, "but there's this other part that is intensly focused."

"What do you mean, pry?"

"Poke around in his mind. It's a trick I learned."

"How?"

"Um, well, _I_ stole it. If you want to learn it, you'd best ask her. I only described the sensation and she picked up the technique like it was nothing. She's a savant." Melon gazed at Tessa steadily, watching as her head would twitch back forth following the path of old man.

"You care about her?"

"Unfortunately." Supreme Kai looked up at Melon surprised by the response and Melon could not ignore his gaze. "She deserves better. A lot better. Is this really all that it's going to take to unlock her full potential?" he asked changing the subject.

"I believe he said there was a second step that was more involved."

"So, is there anything anyone can do about her…situation?"

"There's always time travel."

"You know, it's cruel to joke like that."

"I'm a Supreme Kai. You think I can't send her back?"

"Then why haven't any of your other friends offered?"

Supreme Kai shrugged. "Did you ask?"

"Well, no. You could really send her back so she could be with her brother?"

"I don't see why not. She could probably go back and do some good too. Namek might survive if she fought Frieza and defeated him."

* * *

Tessa sat on the ground and glared at the old man who was looking through a porn magazine and giggling like a school boy as he would gaze at the foldouts. She looked up at Melon and opened her mouth to protest but he shook his head sharply, causing her to huff and cross her arms over her chest tightly.

He sighed. After only four hours, she'd been antsy. By hour eighteen, she was murderous and the fact that Elder Kai seemed to be enjoying his version of the twenty still hours was driving Tessa further up a wall. She looked ready to get up and walk away at any moment.

"So you're really going to offer to send her back?"

"You don't think I should?"

"No, I do. Just, isn't there a big universal law opposing major changes in the time stream or something?"

"Actually, there aren't any universal laws."

"So physics is just a joke?"

"Sounds about right."

"What if she changes something that causes a major shift in the future that would result in her not going back to the past?"

"I don't think it's likely. You'd be more likely to win the lottery."

"I'm a demon. We have our hand in the lottery. I know what those odds are.

"Then you know the odds are in her favor."

* * *

"I don't feel any different. Are you sure you did something, Old Man? Or were you too distracted by the boooobies," Tessa sneered the second she hopped to her feet after the completion of the twenty hours.

"What an ungrateful little brat you are! Of course it worked. I didn't get old and wrinkly from age. I was fused with an old hag who had the ability. But your lack of faith might be the reason why you'll not reach your full potential."

Tessa snorted before turning her back on the old man. "And to think I nearly puked in my mouth for those last twenty-five hours of torture."

Melon chuckled as he shook his head. "Trust me; he was doing something in the back of that horny little brain of his. If you would've stopped being pissed, you might have been able to focus enough to realize it yourself."

"And if you're uncertain of his effectiveness, allow me to make it up," Supreme Kai spoke up grinning brightly.

"I'm listening," Tessa said cautiously. "I'd actually be willing to kiss you though, but not him again," she said thumbing to the old man who was reabsorbed into his magazine.

"Would you like to see your brother again?"

"I'm not exactly ready to just go to Upperworld and call it quits on life. Can I go back to Earth for a while first?"

"Not Upperworld."

"Well, I don't want to go to Hell!"

Supreme Kai laughed. "I'm asking if you'd like me to send you back. Both your brother and yourself would be very much alive."

"Back. In time?! You could do that?" Tessa turned excitedly and hugged Melon and he forced a smile as he returned the gesture. "You have no idea how much this means to me! My brother…all I've ever wanted was my family."

"I'd only be happy to help. But you have to remember one key thing if you want this to work."

"Anything."

"If you want it to be lasting, you're going to have to convince the Z Fighters of Earth to wish your brother back to life along with everyone else."

"Wait, you just said he'd be alive when you sent me back."

"He will. But history says that he's killed by Frieza, like everyone else on Namek. You'll have to intervene, one way or the other."

"I-I can do that," Tessa said nodding her head certainly. "Whatever it takes." Her face literally lit up with her smile which couldn't even fade at the sight of Melon's disheartened expression. He and Supreme Kai had talked. There was no way for him to go with her. The lottery was not his favor. He could run into himself in the past and the paradox could actually break the universe or something like that.

"Are you ready?"

"Almost," Tessa said, still grinning at Supreme Kai like a little kid who has been promised ice cream. "Melon, you're coming, right?"

"I can't. No demons allowed past the yellow line."

"I can't go without you. I need you," she said gazing up at him trying to understand why he wouldn't want to come with her. Did he not care about her the way she'd thought?

"You'll be fine. You'll be with your brother now."

"I'll miss you."

"As will I. But you'll be happy, Tess."

She pressed her hand to his arm, not quite willing to accept that she'd have to let him go. "I'm happy with you."

"Correction then, you'll be happ_ier_," he argued.

"No. I can't go." She shook her head violently in the negative.

"Why not? Isn't this what you've spent the last hundred years babbling about how much you wanted it and how you'd do anything to have it?"

"I guess I just never imagined that the consequences would be so pricey."

"Not as pricey as you're thinking." He was having a hard time maintaining the illusion that he was ok. He cupped her cheek in his hand before tipping her head down and kissed her hair. "I care about you, Tess, and I want you to be happy. You need to do this. It's the right thing. Rulers of the universe are offering you the chance of an eternity. You shouldn't pass it up."

She tilted her head up to gaze at him and frowned. "You really expect me to believe you're okay with this? You're right, it's been like a century that we've been together. And you know me pretty well but do you honestly think that you're such a mystery to me? This is eating you up right now. What are you going to do now?"

"I'm gonna go ask King Yemma for a transfer," he replied with a wink. "Who knows, maybe I'll look up your brother. Find out how things went for you."

She grinned again before throwing her arms around his neck in a tight hug. "God, I'll miss you," she whispered in his ear as tears began to fall down her cheeks.

"Same, babe. But you have to promise me something."

"What?"

"Don't go looking for me. If you convert me too soon, we won't meet in the now. Then we'll never get to this point and you won't ever be sent back. You have to promise."

"I can't do that. I can't just sit around knowing you're in Hell and not want to do something about it."

"You have to, Tess. Do you understand me?" Melon repeated himself firmly.

Her lower lip quivered as she looked up at him. "That was the only reason I was okay with leaving…I was going to find you…I was going to make your life better too…" Her voice dropped off as her voice trembled. "How am I supposed to live without you?"

"The same way you did before. You keep breathing. It's as simple as that," he replied smiling. "Don't worry, I'm better off dead. And besides, I'm horribly moody in that time period. You wouldn't like me very much."

"That can't be true. I like you no matter what." Melon smiled realizing that was probably true. Also realizing that if his younger self had known her, he probably wouldn't have been quite as 'moody'. "I'll wait for _you_ then," Tessa said suddenly. "When I do die of old age, I'll make sure to be here as soon as I'm gone. I'll come back for you."

"Hmm…old age. I'm not so sure I like the sound of that. Maybe you could die young?"

She punched him in the shoulder lightly and they exchanged knowing glances. No matter what now, she would age, he would not. Whether she appeared to be thirty or two hundred the next time they should meet, she'd be older and he'd still be the same young, handsome Melon as ever. "I'll be back for you. If you could spend a few millennium waiting for something, so can I."

"I never knew that I was waiting for you though. I wouldn't have been as patient if I'd have known."

Before he could react, she went up on tip toes and kissed him brusquely. Melon was so surprised that he froze, closing his eyes as he tried to remember the sensation of her pressed against him. But he was suddenly overwhelmed by a series of images that flooded his brain. Tessa fighting as a Super Saiyan against Frieza, Tessa holding a blue-haired infant, Tessa training with Vegeta, and on they went as she grew older and more beautiful with each passing image.

When she finally pulled back, her hands ran down over his arms, gripping his fingertips. "Well, now you really do have to go," Melon sighed forcing the images to the back of his mind. It was too painful to contemplate at the moment that she would be that happy without him. "You can't beat that for an exit."

It got a smile out of Tessa and she chewed her lips unable to actually say the words. Melon just nodded in understanding as he released his grip on her hands and his fell to his sides. "I'm ready," she said turning away from Melon as she chewed her lower lip to keep herself from saying anything more. Neither of them had it in them to accept this as goodbye.


	17. Chapter 17: O Brother, Where Art Thou?

**Disclaimer: I do not own any of the characters you're about to read about in the second half of this chapter with the exception of Tanga. Say hi to the DBZ cast!**

**Um…not really writer's block if you're not writing much of anything at all. My head is getting very crowded so I'm glad to be done with winter break. It's strange. I never have as much time to do what I like when I'm on break. Perhaps it has a strong correlation to time spent with my mother. **

**Chapter 17: O Brother, Where Art Thou?**

She was gone.

Melon felt his heart drop into the pit of his stomach and for one wild moment, he spun expecting to see her standing there--somewhere. She knew instant transmission, it wasn't out of the question for her to have just gone somewhere only to return right away. A playful joke.

Or maybe she really was in the past. Was he hoping she'd keep her word and wait for him? So maybe she would now appear twenty, or fifty, or two hundred years old...he didn't think he cared.

"She's gone." The two words spoken by the Supreme Kai caused what little beating did go on in Melon's heart to stop.

The demon froze before turning slowly on his heel to gaze down at the small deity. "Those are not the words I'm looking to hear," he said softly. "Gone where? The past? Upperworld? Where is she?"

Supreme Kai closed his eyes, his brow knitted with consternation. "I sent her to the past, but I can no longer sense her presence in this time whatsoever. Surely she should have died by now, but she's not here. She's currently nowhere."

"That's not possible. The only way it's possible is if she's made a jump through time or if she's just..." The thought of Tessa being wiped from existence entirely was too painful for him to say aloud despite the sad gazes of the other three pleading with him to accept what must be true. "You said the odds were against that," Melon said shaking his head in disbelief. "I believed you! I convinced her to go!"

"I don't believe the trouble is in the far past where I sent her. There seems to be far more disturbances in the timeline than she could be responsible for."

"So it's coincidence?" Melon hissed. "What the hell is going on?"

"I don't know for certain. All I know is that what is happening is altering the time stream as drastically as she is. It is as if she is one event and then there is a second event and they are competing for which will prove more influential over history."

"Who's winning?" Melon growled.

"Not your Saiyan princess," the Kai said slowly looking up.

"Sir, the other kais," Kibito spoke up and the Supreme Kai held up a hand to silence his servant.

"I know."

"What about the other kais?" Melon demanded.

"They're gone too."

Melon jerked up straight as if his fear had taken a hard grip on his spine and pulled. "What did this?"

"I don't know. But I need you to go back as well," the Supreme Kai said coming towards Melon, a hand outstretched. "Take it."

"No," Melon said shaking his head vehemently. "You said that was a bad idea."

"She's going to stay gone unless you can fix things." The kai gripped Melon above the wrist, their flesh in contact but Melon remained obstinate. "Only you have an intimate knowledge of her life to know when and where things might have changed. If she has died before she came to the Otherworld to train, that would explain her disappearing entirely."

"How?"

"Time does not like to be altered too much. By such a large contradiction occurring, she may simply be removed from the universe in order to resimplify the order of the universe."

"And which higher power makes those decisions?" Melon growled only to receive a helpless look from the Supreme Kai. "What about the other kais?"

"It happened farther back in the time stream than where I sent her. I'm not sure anything can be done to change that."

"What if I'm not the right man for this?"

"You are. I believe that you are because I've never seen any two people as connected as you. Neither of us may be omniscient enough to know where and when she is all the time, but you will be able to sense when and where she is when she needs you. Her heart will be calling out to yours. So trust it."

"Stupid Saiyan mating ritual," Melon cursed under his breath

"But you must hurry. The longer we stay here talking, the more both of our memories are apt to change. Do you want to forget her entirely?" Melon hesitated for a moment before shaking his head softly in the negative. "Then take it, and go."

The Kai started at the strange pulling sensation as Melon dropped his hand away from the Kai's grip. The demon's eyes flickered up to meet the Kai's gaze for a moment as he frowned. "One more thing," Supreme Kai said, "You cannot settle into the time stream until you're certain you've found the right time. Do you understand?"

Melon simply nodded before closing his eyes and faded into nothing.

"I knew I should have said something earlier about sending that girl back," Elder Kai spoke up once Melon was gone.

Supreme Kai turned to gaze at Elder Kai and frowned. "Why?"

"I've never felt such a power before in someone. She has the ability not just to transform into a Super Saiyan…but possibly a Super Saiyan of the fourth level. That kind of power would tear Earth apart. Hmmm…" Elder Kai turned and wandered away to settle beneath a tree and read his magazine while Kibito and Supreme Kai just stared at him.

* * *

"Those jerks, they better not hurt that kid," Krillin hissed.

"Who are those guys? They're all dressed like Vegeta."

"But they're not Saiyans. Maybe Vegeta really is the only one left. Except for you and Goku."

Gohan and Krillin turned to look at one another and found that a teenage girl had appeared lying on her stomach between them. She too was peering over the edge at the scene below and her brows were narrowed as she frowned. "That makes me sad. You left me out of the count," she said softly. After another beat of silence she spoke again, "Vegeta wears the same armor as them and the armor is provided by Frieza."

"W-who are you?" Krillin whispered.

"My name's Tanga. The creepy, really powerful dude in the hovercraft is Frieza."

"Are you with them?" Gohan asked and she turned to gaze at him, an eyebrow cocked in amusement.

"Am I wearing the same armor as them?"

"No, but you're not exactly wearing the same as us either," Krillin noted doing a quick double take of his own uniform before gazing at Tanga's. "You've trained with a lot more people than me," he whispered in awe.

"Yeah. King Kai gave me the uniform. Each Kai added their symbol as I completed their training as well. But this isn't about my résumé."

"Are you here for the Dragonballs too?" Gohan asked and Tanga turned to gaze at the boy again.

She shook her head in the negative. "I could care less about making a wish on them. I'm here for the honor of my family."

"But you are a Saiyan?" Gohan asked. His eyes gave off the slightest bit of a twinkle in his fascination and hope.

"Yes. Frieza killed my father in cold blood so that he could enslave our race to use them as pirates for his planetary trade. He's kept my brother enslaved nearly his entire life, and he tried to dispatch me as a child but failed."

"Who's your brother?" Krillin asked, half afraid that he might already know the answer.

"Vegeta," Tanga replied solemnly, keeping her gaze on the scene below as Frieza began to threaten the village elder. She noticed Krillin and Gohan's reaction and frowned more deeply. "I'm not a threat to you. I'm your best hope of surviving this. And my brother only wants the same thing that I do—redemption. He came to Earth for the Dragonballs for the same reason he's come here. He knows he can't beat Frieza without immortality and that's all he wants. Help me—help him. Together we can beat Frieza."

"Vegeta sent you over here, didn't he? This is a trap. Frieza's going to kill us."

"He will if you don't hush up," Tanga hissed. "I know how to mask my energy just as you do, if not better. I can power up all the way and I'm still undetectable. But Frieza's not deaf."

Krillin nodded and swallowed as he settled back down to rest on his stomach. "Do you have a game plan?"

"Yeah. It's called wait until an opportunity presents itself."

Gohan began to clench his fists and Tanga immediately spun her head in his direction as she sensed his powers levels begin to increase. Krillin turned at her reaction as well and then stared back down over the cliff to watch as Zarbon killed one of the elders with an energy attack. "Oh man…" Krillin moaned. Tanga quickly placed a hand over one of the boy's fists but he didn't seem to notice. "Gohan, I know it's tough, but you have to keep your energy down. There's nothing we could have done," Krillin said softly.

"It just makes me so mad, Krillin."

"He's right. We can't afford to be found now. We'll lose. Frieza's too powerful for us. Sure, we'd be able to take out his guards, but that does us no good. We have to wait," Tanga argued. She sighed inwardly as she gazed back down. She was frustrated for finding the fighters from Earth and not her brother first. But at least this way, she could start to build some trust for the Saiyan prince in his absence. As she watched, Dodoria spun and turned in their direction. _Shit. _"Down," she hissed grabbing both Gohan and Krillin by the scruff and pulled them back as she pressed herself completely flat against the ground and slowly crawled back herself. The two others finally overcame their anger with fear as they hunkered down and it was enough to suppress their energy levels again.

"Those fools!" Tanga cried out spying the three Namekian warriors on the horizon. She watched horrified as they approached realizing that even if they were masking their powers, it wasn't complete and that there was no way for them to win. Dodoria was distracted by their appearance as well and didn't see as Tanga raised her head to better watch. It wasn't long before a fight broke out between Frieza's lower level men and the Namekians, and while they were able to win, Frieza had not yet sent Zarbon and Dodoria into the fight. Suddenly, the elder shot Dodoria in the face, destroying his scouter device, and in another instant, had leapt into the air, firing energy beams at the other two scouting devices that belonged to fallen men. "Suicidal genius," she whispered. Krillin and Gohan were too busy cheering for the Namekian warriors to notice the pure strategic genius on display, but Zarbon and Frieza were not.

"Crafty old dog," Krillin whispered after a few more moments.

"Wait, why is he only destroying the scouters?" Gohan piped up.

"Because, think about it. Without them, Frieza and his men won't be able to find the Namekians or the Dragonballs. Even if he gets the one here, he'll have a heck of a time finding the next one."

"He's dead," Tanga whispered. "He's sacrificed everything for his people."

They watched as Dodoria went to attack the old man, but Frieza interfered giving him new orders. It didn't take long for the three Namekian warriors to be defeated by Dodoria as the elder was helpless to aid. The entire time, Tanga kept a firm grip on the scruff of Gohan's uniform keeping him at bay. Eventually, the threats were enough that the elder went to retrieve the Dragonball, but even then, Frieza was not done with him. It was frustrating being unable to hear what they were saying.

Whatever the demand, the elder refused and prepared himself to fight Dodoria who had other intentions. He shot a mouth beam over the elder's shoulder to kill one of the Namekian children as they fled before attacking the elder himself. All the while, Tanga struggled more and more for control over Gohan as he began to power up beside her.

Finally, he tore free of her grip and flew down over the cliff face towards Dodoria when he turned to attack the poor remaining Namekian child. "Idiot!" she hissed turning to gaze at Krillin who only hesitated another moment himself before flying after Gohan. Gohan kicked Dodoria into the side of a building and landed in a defensive fighting position between the child and Dodoria. Tanga muttered darkly under her breath as she followed Krillin who swooped in to pick up the child before shouting at Gohan to hurry. She only glanced back once over her shoulder to see Frieza's angry expression at the interference before she put on a burst of speed as she flew away leading Gohan and Krillin. It wasn't long before Dodoria had caught up with them and Tanga slowed so that she fell to the back of the pack rather than the front. "You two need to pick it up."

"Come on, Gohan!" Krillin urged the young Saiyan.

"Give it up!" Dodoria's voice taunted. "You can run, but there's nowhere to hide!" He began firing energy blasts and Tanga and the others rolled and dodged through the air but eventually Krillin was clipped causing him to drop the Namekian child. Both she and Krillin went into an immediate dive after the child but Dodoria caught up, snatching Krillin out of the air by his foot. Tanga hesitated for a moment before continuing her dive for the child realizing he was far more defenseless than Krillin who wriggled trying to get loose. Finally, Krillin butted Dodoria beneath the chin with his head and was dropped joining Tanga in the chase. Gohan swept in at the last second though and caught the child before he could hit the ground and set him upright again.

"Gohan! Get a move on! He's catching up!" Krillin shouted and the boy looked up in surprise at Dodoria who'd recovered from the blow and was firing his mouth beam again. Gohan recovered and quickly took to the air with everyone else hot on his tail. "Our only hope is to outrun him somehow."

"No, our only hope is to distract him long enough to get out of sight. You two keep going, no matter what," Tanga said curling her hands into fists as energy started to spark and glow.

"Wait, I have an idea," Krillin spoke up and rolled onto his back so he was facing Dodoria as he flew backwards. "Watch the birdie!" he taunted. "Solar Flare!"

As the air was filled with blinding light, Tanga grabbed Gohan by the arm and dragged him down towards the cliff faces searching for any kind of cave or outcropping they could hide in. It wasn't long before Dodoria was too distracted rubbing the spots from his eyes and Krillin was able to join them. When Dodoria recovered, he flew right over them still trying to spot them on the horizon.

"I have to admit, that was good," Tanga said smiling at Krillin.

"Where'd you learn that?" Gohan asked.

"Just a little trick I picked up from Tien. And I thought so, without his scouter, he can't find us."

Tanga peered out of the niche to where Dodoria was circling above. In the immediate chaos, she hadn't had time to consider it, but now she was wondering if she'd been wrong to join Krillin and Gohan instead of immediately going on to find her brother. "I hope Vegeta is faring better than we are."

"You're actually worried about him?" Krillin asked. "He's the last thing on my mind."

"He's my brother. And at least I didn't abandon him alone in a cave like you did your friend," Tanga muttered casting Krillin a dark look.

"How'd you know about Bulma?" Gohan asked. "Did they find her?"

"No. I sensed that you were worried about her," Tanga said softly. "I have a little gift for reading thoughts and emotions."

"This may not be the best time, but it may be our only chance to ask: who exactly are you and how did you get here?"

Tanga sighed as she gazed at Krillin and then back up at the sky to watch Dodoria. "I'm a Saiyan, Vegeta's sister, but he and I were separated as children by Frieza. Frieza had me sent into a black hole and I wound up severely in the future. One of the Kais sent me back so I could be reunited with my brother, and he chose this time and place."

"So you don't have a spare space ship, do you?"

"No. Why? What happened to yours?" she asked, her brow creasing with confusion.

"A couple of Frieza's men blew it up. Bulma doesn't even think that she can fix it," Gohan said quietly.

"And how do you know what your brother's intentions are?" Krillin asked narrowing his eyes. "Sounds to me like you two haven't spoken in a few decades."

"Twenty-two years for him, over a hundred for me," Tanga responded. "I know because I know a demon from Hell who has heard the story of what happens here from the lips of those that died on _this_ planet during _this_ battle and _knew_ his intentions because he told them right before he killed them."

"So Vegeta wins? I mean, I know he's strong, but I don't think he's as strong as that Frieza guy," Gohan said softly.

"Can we go back to the part where she's over a century old?" Krillin nearly shrilled staring at Tanga.

"Vegeta's not strong enough," Tanga said softly. "That's why he needs the immortality. Please, my brother has made mistakes, I know that; but he's not as bad as everyone thinks. He's just had a very bad life," she sighed leaning back against one of the large boulders as she crossed her arms over her chest. "And as to my age, I'm only sixteen. I spent a hundred years, plus or minus a few, in the Otherworld. You kinda stop aging over there."

"How can we trust you?"

"I haven't done anything to get you killed yet, have I? I can't say the same for you two. And they say we Saiyans are the hotheads who don't think."

She turned her back on them before slowly lifting up into the air above the level of the cliffs and saw that Dodoria really was gone. She signaled for the others who flew up into the air after her before they began traveling back towards the cave in which they'd left Bulma. They hadn't traveled far though when she sensed a strong energy approaching them, not nearly as strong as Frieza, but stronger than the other men he'd had with him. Immediately, they dove back down to the ground for cover, not finding very much along the water's edge but a few rocks. All three of the fighter's heads snapped up, the Namekian child's slowly swiveling to follow their gaze. Tanga nearly ran out into the open when she realized who it was flying above them now and Krillin grabbed her by the arm pulling her back. "You haven't seen him in over twenty years. What makes you think he'll recognize you?"

"He's my brother," Tanga hissed.

"And he may kill you first before asking questions. He'll definitely kill us." Tanga froze gazing down at Krillin before looking back up at her brother who was hovering in the air above them. She could sense his thoughts, his dislike for the Earthlings and his frustration that they may be here. He couldn't sense her energy at all though. He was only counting two in the party, not three, not even the accurate count of four.

"He knows we're here," she said softly looking back down. "He'll keep looking until he finds the source of energy that he's sensing. You two aren't lowering your powers as much as you think."

"Then we confront him," Krillin said glancing at the Namekian child. As Krillin and Gohan were about to run out into the open themselves, a whale leapt out of the water, spraying them all with mist and distracted Vegeta.

Tanga gazed up in dismay as she felt out his mind and he mistook their energy as belonging to the whale. "He's leaving," she said dismayed. While the others celebrated and prepared to leave again, she continued to stare in the direction her brother left for a long time. _I was so close…that was him. That was my brother. Even after all these years, I recognize him. But would he recognize me?_

"Tanga, are you coming?" She turned to see that Krillin was hovering behind her while Gohan and the Namekian had already taken off again.

"I'm coming."


	18. Chapter 18: Claustrophobic? Hope not

**Disclaimer: I miss Melon…damn it.**

**Ugh…even though winter break is over and I tell myself I have more time for writing…I don't. I'm not sure where all the time is going. Perhaps I've just not adjusted to my wicky wacky class schedule yet.**

**Chapter 18: Claustrophobic? Hope not.**

Tanga hung back at the cave's mouth as the others rushed forward. She knew that her presence would startle Bulma and it would be best to take things slowly. She did watch though as they ran towards what looked like a cross between an igloo and a house shouting Bulma's name. She rolled her eyes realizing that if any of Frieza's men were nearby they wouldn't need scouters to hear them.

Finally the door opened and a blue haired young woman stepped out to greet them. "Well, it's about time you two came back!" she shouted crossing her arms over her chest and both Gohan and Krillin shuddered. Tanga just smirked from where she stood watching. The Namekian child crept backwards nearing her position and she placed a hand on his shoulder to stop him from wandering out of the cave completely. "What took you so long anyway? I thought I was gonna die of boredom," Bulma whined.

"Must have been rough," Krillin snickered and Gohan chuckled.

As the atmosphere calmed, the boy regained his courage, edging away from Tanga and towards the others once more. Finally Bulma noticed him peaking out around the edge of the cave wall and her head tilted with curiosity. "Hey, what's the deal with the miniature-Piccolo? He's Namekian, right? You sure it's a good idea to bring him here?"

"Sure we saved him."

"What happened out there?"

"How about we go inside first, then we'll tell you the whole story," Krillin said finally realizing just how much their voices may be carrying outside the cave.

"Oh yeah! I have a lot to tell you too. I talked to my dad and Goku's on his way here to Namek! And brace yourselves; he'll be here in six days! That's right. He's using a replica of the same ship he came to Earth in as a baby. My dad worked all day and night fixing it up for him and he's still training too so he'll be ready to take on the bad guys! What do you think?"

Tanga watched and felt the emotions sky rocket in the cave as Gohan grabbed the Namekian boy's hands and started dancing at the news. "My dad's coming here?!"

"Yeah!" Krillin fist pumped the air. "I don't believe it. Goku! This means we still have a fighting chance."

"I do suppose that three Saiyans are better than only two," Tanga said pushing herself up off the wall she'd been leaning against. Her arms were still crossed over her chest comfortably as she looked over her companions.

You would have thought she'd been perfectly blended into the wall rather than just remaining still based on Bulma's reaction. "Who are you?!" Bulma cried staring at the other girl and taking in her wild red hair and foreign gi. The long furry tail that was wrapped around her waist didn't do anything to calm her down.

"Oh, she's, uh, with us," Krillin piped up almost forgetting the Saiyan girl's presence in her silence.

"We'll discuss it. Inside," Tanga said stepping forward, her hand finding its way back to the Namekian boy's shoulder. "We're making too much noise out here."

Bulma just blinked taken aback by the other female presence that seemed to rival her for leadership. Tanga just turned to gaze at her as she passed and stepped inside the igloo house. "Hey! You can't just barge into a place and act like it's your own," she cried giving chase.

Tanga tilted her head to the side and frowned still maintaining a mostly deadpan expression. "I'm sorry. I'm being unsocial. It's a side effect of spending so much time in the Otherworld." She held out her hand expectantly but Bulma never reciprocated the gesture. "My name's Tanga. My brother's Vegeta."

Bulma turned to give the evil eye to Krillin as he brought up the tail of the group and was closing the door behind him. "You brought one of those crazy Saiyans into our midst?! Are you trying to get us killed?! Vegeta's going to follow her right here and have you forgotten that he wants us all dead?!"

Tanga blinked before holding up a hand which immediately brought silence and saved a horrified looking Krillin from having to face Bulma. "I haven't spoken to my brother since I was five. He may not even recognize me. I came here to help him defeat Frieza to regain our family's honor, and I have not traveled through time and space just to have you freak out and refuse my help."

"I didn't ask for it!" Bulma cried.

"No, but you need it," Tanga said calmly in response. "Frieza is one bad dude and he's after the Dragonballs too. As I recall being told, these balls will grant more than one wish. You only need one, my brother only needs one. We can reason with him. Frieza is not one to be reasoned with though."

"How do you know so much about us and Frieza?" Bulma asked plopping down into a chair and the others joined her as Tanga stood in the center of the kitchenette.

"Frieza tried to kill me as a little girl and failed, I wound up in the future, I was amnesic, your friend Piccolo told me who I was and helped train me, I went to Otherworld, I trained some more, I learned about what happened in the here and now, I was sent back to help. That's the cliff notes version. All in all that took about a hundred years of doing and five millennia round trip. Any questions?" Tanga got back four blank stares and she sighed as she settled down into the booth beside the Namekian. "Can't you just take it for granted that I'm here to help and that if I wanted to, you'd be dead already?" She oddly didn't feel like delving into any details of her own life. She knew that she needed to gain their trust but she knew that more importantly, they needed to act. They needed a plan for defeating Frieza.

"You look so young," Bulma whispered leaning in closer.

"That's her story and that's your only point of confusion?!" Krillin asked staring at Bulma who was still studying Tanga's face.

Tanga pulled back slightly at the deeply inquiring look she was receiving from Bulma. It was unnerving to be analyzed as if someone were seeking a chink in her armor, or worse—a gray hair. "You don't even have any wrinkles," Bulma finally said awestruck.

"I'm sixteen. I've been sixteen for a hundred years. I'm sort of tired of being sixteen. I look forward to turning seventeen."

Bulma just blinked as she leaned back. "She seems okay to me."

"Bulma, is there food?" Gohan's question broke the eerie silence that had taken over and Tanga laughed out loud. "What?"

It wasn't long before there was food set out and Tanga grinned as she picked up the chopsticks and dug in eagerly. Krillin stared as the two Saiyans tore apart their food and it disappeared. "You really are Saiyan," he said mystified.

"Of course I am," Tanga managed between bites. "And I haven't eaten good food for a while. Food in Otherworld is kinda hit or miss."

"This stuff? Good? Come on…the poor kid here can't even bring himself to eat it," Krillin said making note that the child had still not touched his plate. Tanga froze, chopsticks in mid air as she gazed at the boy sitting next to her.

"Must not be that bad the way you're stuffing your face, Krillin. Did you think that just once, you could thank me rather than insult me?"

Krillin held his hands up defensively at Bulma's attack but Tanga ignored them as she gazed at the boy. "It's ok. I know you've been through a lot, but try to eat. You'll need your strength."

"We Nameks don't eat," the boy said quietly. "We only drink water."

"Doi!" Tanga slapped her forehead. "I knew that. You spend a couple of months camping with a guy in the wilderness and you start to notice that he doesn't eat."

"But what are all those crops you guys had?" Krillin asked. "I saw them all around the villages."

"They're an attempt to bring life back to our planet. Many years ago a great storm nearly left the planet extinct of life, but the elders remembered the plants that used to flourish and teach us how to grow them."

"Hey, you never even told us your name!" Gohan suddenly exclaimed.

"Oh, I'm sorry. It's Dende."

The words were no sooner out of his mouth than Krillin, Gohan and Tanga exchanged quick glances before they were on their feet racing for the mouth of the cave.

"Hey! What's with you guys? Is someone coming?" Bulma asked as she cowered behind a rock peering out at the sky above.

"No. There's a bunch of energy levels peaking in the distance."

"And fading," Tanga sighed. She frowned as she lowered her gaze to the ground. "It's my brother. He must have found one of the villages."

"Vegeta," Krillin seethed. "That murdering son-of-a…" he trailed off when he saw Tanga's hunched shoulders and clenched fists. "Why aren't you stopping him?"

"I would if I knew how. I don't think it's as simple as me showing up and telling him to stop."

"You could at least try!" Bulma shouted.

"He's not going to take orders from me. It'll only create a rift between us from the start. I need him to trust me, to trust all of us. That's not going to happen if he thinks some stranger is trying to boss him around. We should focus on getting the last Dragonball first. We get that, you hide it, and I'll stay in the abandoned village to greet my brother—or Frieza. Whomever comes first."

"That's crazy!" Gohan interjected. "You keep saying you're worried he won't know you. Don't you think hiding the Dragonball will just upset him more?"

"Yes. But if it's hidden, killing me won't help him in the least. He would need me to talk first. Dende, do you know where the last Dragonball would be hidden?"

"With the eldest. He is the wisest and oldest and all of our father. He was the only Namekian to survive the great storm. I myself was his 108th child."

"Wait…if he was the only survivor…how were you born?" Bulma asked.

Tanga shot the other woman a popped eyebrow as if to say, 'is this necessary right now?' Bulma missed it.

"We were all born from eggs he produced from his mouth of course."

"So you mean: he is really a she. I get it."

Dende looked confused. "No. We're all the same."

"No, there's males and there's females. You know, they're different."

"How?"

"Well, don't you have sisters?"

"No."

"You mean you're all the same?" Bulma said as realization finally dawned upon her. "Thank God I'm not a Namekian. It would be so boring," Bulma sighed.

Tanga's head dropped in frustration. On one hand she had the meaningless discussion of an asexual culture and on the other hand her brother was on a murdering rampage. She didn't know which was worse on her psyche. "If you're all his children, there really aren't that many Namekians. That means it'll be all too easy for Vegeta to find the Elder."

Krillin picked up on Tanga's drift. "Yeah, Frieza's men'll be lost without their scouters but not Vegeta."

"Oh please, you have to find him!" Dende cried latching onto Krillin's shirt. "You have to help us."

"We will," Tanga said calmly. "We need to split up. Vegeta will recognize Krillin and Gohan's energies like a fingerprint if you two stay together. One of you stays behind with Bulma. The other comes with me and Dende to the Elder to evacuate that village and hide the Dragonball."

"Gohan, you should stay here. She's right. Vegeta would sense us, and I don't know how she does it, but she doesn't even blip on the radar even when flying."

Gohan nodded, setting his expression. "I know. Good luck."

They quickly flew off but it didn't take long before Tanga cleared her throat loudly and gave Krillin a pointed stare. The man just blinked at her in return unsure of what he'd done to upset the Saiyan girl. "I'd rather not have to listen to you whine this entire time. Think you can tone back the woe is me speech in your shiny noggin?"

Krillin made a noise something like a whimper but his thoughts became more focused on the Dragonballs and their wishes.

* * *

"How much longer until we reach the village at this speed?" Krillin asked.

"Um, about five more hours I guess."

They flew on for a while longer before Tanga pulled up short, her head snapping around to look in the direction they'd come. "Get to the ground, now," she said calmly, but firmly.

"Oh man, Vegeta must have sensed our energy."

"I'm not so sure of that," Tanga replied as Krillin and Dende hid amongst the rocks. Despite Krillin's motions for her to follow, she remained hovering in the air just above the ground watching as Vegeta streaked by. "He senses Zarbon who's just blindly searching for the village. You two keep going and pick up the speed. They'll be too distracted to notice you."

"And what are you going to do?"

"Make sure my brother's alright," Tanga shouted as she took off in the direction her brother had gone. It wasn't long before she could see him and Zarbon duking it out in the sky, her brother clearly with the upper hand. She hung back under the cover of trees to watch, careful not to be noticed. She knew that her mission was to change the future, but at what point was she meant to actually step in and which battles should she allow to be fought on their predetermined course.

If she fought her brother's battles for him, it would not ease anything. And if she interfered too much on behalf of the Human Z Fighters they wouldn't grow either. She could not step in and become the new 'Goku' upon whom everyone had seemed to become dependent. While she was stronger than her brother, she could sense that; she could not fight for him because it would damage his pride even further than the years of enslavement to Frieza had. He would be far from appreciative of a girl, even his sister, saving him.

Vegeta's lead in the battle didn't last though and as Tanga watched, Zarbon underwent a transformation. One she'd seen before as a little girl right before he'd thrown her into the space pod. It'd been the only way to rip her free from where she'd sunk her teeth into his arm refusing to let go when she'd realized his intentions.

She'd been standing next to a tree and when Vegeta started to take the hits, and her fist went through the tree trunk like a hot knife through butter. The two were so involved in their fight, that they didn't even notice the tree collapsing for what seemed like no cause. It took all of her restraint not to leap into the fight to defend her brother from the cruel onslaught from being taken off guard. It wasn't even that they were unevenly matched…he'd just been blind sighted. And she knew far too well herself what a danger it was to be caught off guard.

Eventually Zarbon had won, throwing Vegeta into the ground at high speed. He then stood by and watched as the hole filled in with water from the nearby lake before flying away, certain of his success in the battle. Once Tanga was certain that she was in the clear, she dove into the water head first, pressing deeper as she searched for her brother's body. At the bottom, she found a deep crevice which she crawled into carefully trying to make sure she didn't get caught herself. Eventually she found Vegeta's body twisted at strange angles in the bottom and she set to work wedging him free before swimming back to the surface with him in tow. She flung his body up on the shore before dragging herself up gasping for air. She knelt over him checking for a pulse and then leaned down to hold her ear near his mouth to listen for breathing. Finding that both his heart and lungs were working ok, she rolled him onto his side so he could vomit up water if he needed and took off again for the cover of the woods.

She leaned back against a tree and slid to the ground breathing hard. She had actually just touched her brother for the first time in…almost ever and it had been so cold and calculated that she'd barely felt a thing the entire time until now. She wasn't sure how long she sat there recovering from the exertion of holding her breath but she eventually became aware of Zarbon's energy approaching yet again. She stood quickly and erratically, moving a little further into the cover as she watched Zarbon land beside her brother who'd managed to crawl a few more feet further up the shore before collapsing into unconsciousness again.

Zarbon picked Vegeta up roughly by the wrist and dragged him clumsily through the air. Tanga allowed them to get a head start before she followed his energy across the planet from a good distance. Without his scouter, he would never notice a tail, let alone her.

* * *

Tanga grinned as she realized the destination was Frieza's ship. She'd had a hundred years to roll her five year old memory through her brain. And if anyone knew the layout of that ship, it'd be a small child. She landed gently on top of the ship and quickly found the entrance to a maintenance area that would never be used by Frieza or his warriors. She dropped inside, landing lightly on her feet in a crouched position as her eyes adjusted to the darkness. As she stood up, she opened one hand to reveal a small ball of energy bright enough to light her path for her. The shafts seemed smaller than she remembered, but then again, she was bigger this time.

She remembered where the restoration tanks were located and crawled through the ventilation shafts in their direction. Once, when she'd been four, Nappa had returned from a mission severely injured and had to be treated there. She'd walked down with Vegeta to check on him once and later when she'd gotten bored she'd snuck down again on her own. The bubbles inside the tanks had fascinated her.

It wasn't long until she was located directly over the room and able to peer in through a vent. Vegeta was already inside one of the tanks hooked up with breathing apparatus while Zarbon and Appule looked on. She hunkered down for a long and silent wait.

Neither spoke much and the silence was making Tanga itch. If neither of them moved or made noise then how was she to ever stretch her legs? Finally Zarbon stood, stretching in his own boredom. "I want him healthy for when I torture him for the Dragonball's location," Zarbon sneered before gazing down at Appule pointedly. Zarbon then turned on his heel and left.

Several hours passed and Appule never left his post standing over the controls to Vegeta's tank. Eventually, he had the vitals stabilized and Tanga could hear him muttering to himself, but never quite loud enough for her to catch it all the way up in the ceiling above him. Finally it seemed that Appule would be leaving too and she adjusted her weight in preparation for sneaking down through the ventilation grate. But as Appule's back turned, Vegeta's tank exploded in a flash of light. Appule literally never saw it coming as a piece of the tank nearly took off his head while his back was still turned. Tanga found herself hanging on for dear life as the entire ship was shaken and the vent that she'd been lying on top of shook free and clanged to the floor below. She quickly ducked back into the shaft but watched as Vegeta hid himself in a corner near the door.

Both of them laid in wait as Zarbon and Frieza both came rushing into the room, and Vegeta snuck out while they were too busy inspecting a hole in the side of the ship that they suspected Vegeta had escaped through. So easily distracted by such a simple diversion, it made Tanga wonder how Frieza managed to control so many planets in the universe.

As soon as she realized Vegeta had made it out, Tanga began to run as quickly and quietly as she could on all fours through the vents, every now and then catching a glimpse of her brother running below her to help guide her through the maze of ventilation. The movements came easy to her now and she was greatful to Grand Kai for forcing her to train her entire mind and body to adaptation.

She caught up to Vegeta in the main room of the ship, the one she'd always thought of as comparable to her father's throne room as a child. And gleaming like jewels on the floor were the five Dragonballs that Frieza had managed to steal.

After a few moments, Vegeta went back out into the hall and used an energy blast to cause serious damage to Frieza's ship and create an even larger distraction for Zarbon and Frieza before he picked up the dragonballs and began to chuck them out of the space ship and across a lake. Tanga coughed as the smoke from the fires went into the ventilation and she felt like a rat in a barn fire. She couldn't stay put any longer without being forced out into the open eventually by the flames and she quickly moved through the vents again towards another service door. She cracked the door open peeking out for Zarbon and while his back was turned, she jumped through the door and slid down over the side of the ship keeping out of sight. In her attempt to escape, she'd lost her visual on Vegeta but it wasn't long before she could sense his energy coming from the far side of the lake. He was staying out of sight too.

She made a dash and followed his lead, diving into the water quickly before swimming for the other shore, following her brother's energy signature as he started to be on the move once more.


	19. Playlist

**The Playlist**

It seems to be a trend that authors are telling people what it is they've got playing in the background when they write their stories. Probably most popularly known about is Stephanie Meyer who wrote the Twilight series (This is by no means making a statement one way or the other as to my opinion of her, her books, or the movies—I'm neutral). I thought that I too would do so since music is a very big influence on me and what scenes I choose to work on that day. As a new song works itself into the story by randomly playing on my ipod on the way to school/work, I will add it to this list so you can get a little more insight into the madness of my methods.

**

* * *

**

Chapter 1 - Tessellation

Nirvana – School

Dixie Chicks – Wide Open Spaces

Simple Plan – Welcome to My Life

Avril Lavigne - Mobile

3 Doors Down - Train

**Chapter 2 - Training Day**

No Doubt - Just a Girl

Shinedown - I Dare You

Bush - Machinehead

Adema - Blow It Away

Disturbed - Violence Fetish

**Chapter 3 - The World Martial Arts Tournament**

The Ataris - The Boys of Summer

Kelly Clarkson - Miss Independent

Toby Keith - A Little Less Talk and a Lot More Action

Ayumi Hamasaki - Trauma

Misato Aki - Kimi Ga Sora Datta

**Chapter 4 – The Quarter Finals**

Gorillaz - 5/4

Warrant – Cum on Feel the Noize

Paul Simon – Me & Julio Down by the Schoolyard

Adema – Unstable

Quiet Riot – Metal Health (Bang Your Head)

**Chapter 5 – The Semi Finals**

Dave Matthews Band – Mother Father

Joan Jett – Bad Reputation

Pat Benatar – Heartbreaker

Rage Against the Machine – Calm Like a Bomb

Heart – Barracuda

**Chapter 6 – The Final Match**

AC/DC – Back in Black

Pat Benatar – Hit Me With Your Best Shot

Queens of the Stone Age – Another Love Song

Joan Jett – I Hate Myself for Loving You

Papa Roach – Getting Away with Murder

**Chapter 7 – Snake Way**

Aaliyah – Journey to the Past

AC/DC – Highway to Hell

3 Doors Down – The Road I'm On

The Flaming Lips – Do You Realize??

Gorillaz – Don't Get Lost in Heaven

**Chapter 8 – King Kai**

Chuck Prophet - What Makes the Monkey Dance?

Nickelback – Never Gonna Be Alone

Daft Punk – Around the World

Fuel – Falls on Me

3 Doors Down – Ticket to Heaven

**Chapter 9 – Understanding the Spirit**

The Cranberries – Analyse

Avril Lavigne – Fall to Pieces

Collective Soul – Not the One

Goo Goo Dolls - Iris

3 Doors Down – Let Me Go

**Chapter 10 – Here For the one I Love**

No Doubt - Running

Blue October – Sound of Pulling Heaven Down

Foreigner – Feels Like the First Time

Fatboy Slim – Ya Mamma

Lifehouse – Hanging By a Moment

**Chapter 11 – The Journey Continues**

The Rembrandts – I'll Be There For You

Sister Hazel – Your Winter

Tegan & Sara – Where Does the Good Go?

Frou Frou – Breath In

The Verve Pipe – Never Let You Down

**Chapter 12 - The Planet of Grand Kai**

Red Hot Chili Peppers – The Zephyr Song

Jewel – Standing Still

Ram Jam – Black Betty

Brendan Benson – Cold Hands (Warm Heart)

Pink Floyd – Wearing the Inside Out

**Chapter 13 - It's Just a Kiss**

Blur - Song 2

H.I.M. - Killing Loneliness

Three Days Grace - Animal I Have Become

Greenwheel - Breathe

3 Doors Down - When I'm Gone

**Chapter 14 - Okaasan**

Green Day – Boulevard of Broken Dreams

Jimmy Eat World – Pain

Fatboy Slim – Praise You

The Cranberries – Ode to My Family

Deanna Carter – Once Upon a December

**Chapter 15 - Yes**

David Gray – Please Forgive Me

A.F.I. – Prelude 12/21

Billy Joel – Goodnight My Angel

A.F.I. – Girl's Not Grey

Seether - Truth

**Chapter 16 - Anything but Goodbye**

Stabbing Westward - What Do I Have to DO?

Eve 6 - Here's to the Night

Dido - Life for Rent

Missy Higgins - Where I Stood

Nickelback - Savin' Me

**Chapter 17 - O'Brother Where Art Thou?**

Miley Cyrus - Bottom of the Ocean

Ace of Base - Don't Turn Around

Cold - Stupid Girl

Kelly Clarkson - Breakaway

Gorillaz - Every Planet We Reach is Dead

**Chapter 18 - Claustrophobic? Hope not.**

Simple Plan - Welcome to My Life

Dresden Dolls - Girl Anachronism

Evanescence - All That I'm Living For

Death Cab for Cutie - I Will Follow You into the Dark

P.O.D. - Set It Off


End file.
